Panel meets to pick NHRC chief, Justice Joseph’s name discussed
Kharge and Gandhi propose justice KM Joseph for NHRC chair as Modi's committee meets; dissent expected over selection process.
New Delhi: Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and LoP in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi are believed to have suggested the name of former Supreme Court judge justice KM Joseph as the next chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), said people aware of discussions, as a high-level committee chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The meeting of the six-member committee which selects the human rights body chief -- comprising the PM, Lok Sabha Speaker, Union home minister, LoPs of both Houses and deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha -- is also the first time Modi and Gandhi have met since the latter became Lok Sabha LoP.
Congress leaders indicated that both Kharge and Gandhi might give dissent notes on the selection process as the shortlisted names were not shared with them in advance.
The post of NHRC chairperson has been lying vacant since former Supreme Court judge, justice Arun Kumar Mishra, completed his tenure on June 1.
According to officials, Kharge and Gandhi also suggested the name of former apex court judge V Ramasubramanian for the quota for a retired Supreme Court judge in the NHRC . The two leaders suggested the names of five retired high court judges, including Akil Qureshi, S Muralidhar and Rajiv Shakdher, as the members of the commission, said the people cited above.
Justice Joseph assumed office as a Supreme Court judge in August 2018 and retired in June 2023. He came under the limelight when in 2016, as the chief justice of the Uttarakhand high court, he quashed President’s Rule in the state. In 2018, the Supreme Court collegium suggested his name for appointment in the apex court. The Centre rejected it, citing various grounds. After the SC collegium reiterated his candidature to the Centre, Joseph was finally appointed in August 2018.
Vijaya Bharati Sayani is the acting chairperson of the NHRC, a statutory body enacted through a law of Parliament. Its observations are binding on the government.
A former judge of the Supreme Court, justice Mishra served as the eighth chairperson of the rights panel and was appointed to its top post in June 2021.
In the 16th and 17th Lok Sabha, the Congress didn’t have LoP status in the Lok Sabha. Congress’s floor leader in the last Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, attended all such meetings for high-level appointments in his official capacity.
Former CJIs H L Dattu and K G Balakrishnan are some of those who have headed the rights body in the past.
WOULD BE GOOD TO HAVE SOMETHING FROM THE GOVERNMENT SIDE, WHAT THEY SAID
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