Justice (retired) Bilal Nazki resigned from the post of chairman of Bihar Human Rights Commission on Wednesday. His tenure was till November 2017.

Nazki has been appointed chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Human Rights Commission. Nazki, a native of Jammu and Kashmir, had assumed charge in Bihar in March 2014 after retiring as Chief Justice of Odisha High Court.

Recalling his two-and-a-half-year tenure in Bihar, Nazki said the state government extended full cooperation in the smooth functioning of the commission and implemented most recommendations of the commission.

He also said there had been a marked improvement in the functioning of the commission since its inception in 2008. “The rising number of complaints indicates the growing faith of people to seek help for redress of their grievances,” he added.

The commission has registered 39,153 complaints since inception. In 2016 (till October) it received 7,389 complaints were compared to 6,546 in 2015.

According to official data compiled by the commission, complaints against police and other armed forces stood at 2,037 in 2016 against 2,042 in 2015. The outgoing chairman attributed the reason for the slight fall in complaints to awareness among men in uniform.

Complaints related to service matters have increased. A total of 339 such complaints have been received since January this year compared to 292 last year. Similarly, health department-related complaints have also gone up.

Nazki said about 50 to 60 per cent people across the country were still not aware of their rights, and as a result many cases don’t reach rights commissions across the country. “There is an urgent need to create awareness among the masses,” he added.

Responding to another query, Nazki said no complaint related to prohibition in the state had been received. When asked whether prohibition comes under the purview of the human rights commission, Nazki said: “I don’t think there is need to elaborate on the topic. It is up to the Supreme Court to take a decision or make observations on such matters. The apex court has already said that both manufacture and sale of alcohol are not fundamental rights of the citizens,” he said.