President Droupadi Murmu on Monday appointed former Supreme Court Judge V. Ramasubramanian as chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), a nodal body that can investigate human rights violations by the government and public servants.
This appointment comes months after former Supreme Court Justice (retd) Arun Kumar Mishra concluded his tenure as NHRC chairperson on June 1.
After Mishra's retirement, Vijaya Bharathi Sayani became the acting chairperson of the human rights panel.
A former Chief Justice of India or a retired Supreme Court Justice is appointed as the head of the human rights panel, based on the selection committee's recommendation. Former Chief Justices HL Dattu and KG Balakrishnan have previously served as chiefs of the NHRC.
On December 20, Former Chief Justice DY Chandrachud dismissed media reports claiming that his name is being considered for the post of NHRC Chief.
Speaking with news agency PTI, he said, "This is untrue. Presently, I am enjoying my retired life."
Earlier this month, a high-level panel led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened a meeting to select the next chairperson of the human rights body, sources told PTI. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi attended the meeting as leaders of the opposition in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha respectively, they had said.
