Former Supreme Court judge V Ramasubramanian appointed NHRC chief

New Delhi: Former Supreme Court judge V Ramasubramanian has been appointed the new chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission, the rights panel said on Monday.

The post of NHRC chairperson had been lying vacant since Justice (retd) Arun Kumar Mishra completed his tenure on June 1.

Mishra served as the eighth chairperson of the rights panel and was appointed to its top post in June 2021.

On December 18, a high-powered committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting to select the next chairperson of the NHRC, sources earlier said.

A former chief justice of India or a retired judge of the top court are appointed as NHRC chairperson by the president on the recommendation of the selection committee.

Justice (retd) Ramasubramanian, a former judge of the apex court, has been appointed the chairperson of the NHRC, a senior official said, adding "the NHRC received the communication about the appointment today".

Former CJIs H L Dattu and K G Balakrishnan are among those who have headed the rights body in the past.

The NHRC, in a post on X, said, "Hon'ble President of India appoints Shri Justice V. Ramasubramanian (Retd.) as the Chairperson, and Shri Priyank Kanoongo and Dr. Justice Bidyut Ranjan Sarangi (Retd.) as the Members of the National Human Rights Commission(NHRC), India."

Kanoongo earlier served as a chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).

"And now as member of the NHRC, I will try to fulfil the responsibilities expected of me," he told on Monday.

Mishra, a former Supreme Court judge, was also the first non-CJI to be appointed to the NHRC chief post since the amendment of the Protection of Human Rights Act in 2019.

He had succeeded former Chief Justice of India H L Dattu.

Vijaya Bharathi Sayani, a member of NHRC, had become its acting chairperson with effect from June 2 after Mishra had demitted office.