UN examines charges against Balakrishnan

Geneva: The accreditation of India's National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to come up for renewal before the United Nations (UN) on Monday.

The UN meeting in being held in Geneva to look at functioning of human rights commissions across the world.

The UN will also examine the corruption charges made against NHRC Chairman and former Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan. Different civil society groups have sent these complaints against Justice Balakrishnan to UN.

The UN can technically downgrade Indian NHRC's position from being a "participant" to an "observer" within the UN after hearing the charges.

The ex-CJI has also faced allegations that he has wealth that is disproportionate to his known sources of income. His relatives, including his son-in-law and brother, are facing investigations.

Justice Balakrishnan was investigated by the Kerala police in connection with allegations of disproportionate income against his family.

An internal report looking into the assets of close relatives of Balakrishnan was prepared by the special branch of Kerala police. Justice Balakrishnan has been under fire for continuing to occupy the present post of NHRC chairman despite a string of allegations.

Submitted by the Kerala police's special branch, the police has graded the the report as an unofficial confidential note.

The note states Balakrishnan's daughter KB Rani and her husband MJ Benny have landed property worth over Rs 80 lac in Kochi and commercial complex worth Rs 35 lac in Kochi.

Daughter KB Soni and her husband PV Sreenijin have property worth Rs 40 lakh worth in Kochi alone.

Brother KG Bhaskaran and wife MV Ratnamma have property worth Rs 22 lakh in Kochi, also has landed property in Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu.

Balakrsihnan's wife Nirmala Balakrishnan has property worth Rs 5 lakh in Kottayam, Kerala.

Balakrishnan's nephew Abhilash T Chandran - has a jewel shop in Kottayam, a bar hotel in Palakkad, two Mercedes Benz cars, two Skoda cars among other properties. He was a clerk, now director of four companies in Kochi.

Meanwhile, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court by a Delhi-based advocate Manohar Lal Sharma, seeking a judicial inquiry into allegations of disproportionate assets against his family and their alleged involvement in dubious land deals.

The petitioner also wants Balakrishnan's removal as the Chairman of National Human Rights Commission.

The PIL claims that when Balakrishnan was the chief justice of India his daughter Sony and son-in-law Srinijin acquired assets disproportionate to their known sources of income.

Sharma demanded judicial probe into alleged amassing of wealth by Srinijin quoting media reports that he had only declared assets worth only Rs 25,000 in 2006 while contesting an Assembly election from Njarackal in Kerala.