NHRC Chairperson expected to be appointed soon

New Delhi, Dec 18 (IANS) After being without a regular designated head for over six months, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is expected to have a new Chairman in a matter of hours and relieve Acting Chairperson Vijaya Bharathi Sayani.

The apex human rights body has to have a chair in addition to five full-time members. At present, it has just one woman member.

However, NHRC has been in wait of a full-time Chairperson since June, after former Supreme Court justice and the eighth Chairman of the rights panel Arun Mishra retired from the position on June 1. Besides, NHRC has only one member at present against five positions.

The process of appointment of the Chairman of NHRC draws from Sections 2, 3 and 4 of TPHRA (The Protection of Human Rights Act) of 1993. The Chairman and other members are appointed by the President upon the recommendation of a committee consisting of the Prime Minister (who serves as the committee’s Chairperson), Home Minister, Leaders of the Opposition in both Houses of the Parliament, the Speaker of Lok Sabha and the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha.

The qualification of the NHRC Chairperson is that he should either have been a Chief Justice of India or a Judge of the Supreme Court.

Subsequently, a Chairperson is appointed, besides whom, NHRC consists of five other members other than the ex-officio members. One member is, or has been a Judge of the Supreme Court and one member is, or has been the Chief Justice of a High Court. Out of the remaining three members selected for their professional experience in matters centred on human rights, at least one must be a woman.

The ex-officio members include the Chairpersons of National Commissions—National Commission for Scheduled Castes, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, National Commission for Women, National Commission for Minorities, National Commission for Backward Classes, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights; as well as the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities.

The sitting Judge of the Supreme Court or sitting Chief Justice of any High Court can be appointed to the post only after consultation with the Chief Justice of India.

The tenure of the NHRC Chairman is five years or until the Chairman turns 70 years—whichever is earlier.

It may be observed that since June 2009, there has been an acting Chairperson before a full-time Chairperson took over.

From November 1, 2006, Justice Shivaraj Patil served as the acting Chairman till April 1, 2007, before Justice S. Rajendra Babu was appointed the Chairman on April 2, 2007.

Upon the completion of Justice Babu’s tenure on May 31, 2009, Justice G. P. Mathur was appointed the Acting Chairman for over a year before Justice K. G. Balakrishnan was made Chairman on June 7, 2010.

After Justice Balakrishnan’s tenure concluded on May 11, 2015, Justice Cyriac Joseph became the Acting Chairperson for over nine months from May 11, 2015 to February 28, 2016.

Following him were Justice H. L. Dattu (from February 29, 2016, to December 2, 2020); Acting Chairman Justice Prafulla Chandra Pant (from April 25, 2021, to June 1, 202); and Chairman Justice Arun Kumar Mishra (from June 2, 2021, to June 1, 2024).

Acting Chairperson Vijaya Bharathi Sayani has been incumbent since June 2, 2024, having served a period of more than six months.

The statutory body of NHRC came into being on October 12, 1993, under the Protection of Human Rights Ordinance of September 28, 1993. The NHRC is entrusted with the protection and promotion of human rights, which the Act defines as “rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the International Covenants and enforceable by courts in India.”

In a recent development on the global front, in May this year, a global human rights group affiliated with the UN Human Rights Office deferred accreditation for NHRC for the second consecutive year.

It is with the accreditation from the Geneva-based Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions that NHRC could represent India at the UN Human Rights Council or cast a vote there.

Human rights groups have been concerned that the delay in filling vacant posts will put a dent in India’s reputation internationally.

However, on Wednesday, a committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi got together to select the next Chairman of NHRC. As mandated by the procedure, the presence of Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi as well as his counterpart in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge was also registered at the meeting.

–IANS

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