PM-led panel for ex-SC judge Mishra as NHRC chief, Kharge dissents

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 1

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led five member selection committee has recommended the name of former Supreme Court Judge Arun Kumar Mishra as the next chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

However, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge dissented to the decision questioning the absence of the names of eligible candidates from marginalised communities in short list of 12 candidates.

This is the first time in the NHRC’s 27 years that the commission will be headed by a former SC judge and not a former Chief Justice of India. The NDA government had in 2019 amended the Protection of Human Rights Act, which earlier mandated that the NHRC chief should be a former CJI.

The law was changed to allow appointment of a former SC judge as the commission chief. Former SC Judge Arun Mishra had recently made news for praising the PM as an “internationally acclaimed visionary who could think globally and act locally” and a “versatile genius”.

He was selected from a list of 12. He retired from the apex court in September 2020. The final orders on the appointment of the NHRC chairman will come from President Ram Nath Kovind on the recommendation of the selection committee.