The former chief justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Friday said media reports of him being considered for the National Human Rights Commission chairperson’s post were “untrue”. “This is untrue. Presently, I am enjoying my retired life,” country’s 50th CJI, who demitted office on November 10, told PTI.
The post of NHRC chairperson has been lying vacant since former Supreme Court judge Justice (retd) Arun Kumar Mishra completed his tenure on June 1.
On December 18, a high-powered committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting to select the next chairperson of NHRC, sources said.
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.
Justice (retd) Mishra served as the eighth chairperson of the rights panel after being appointed in June 2021.
According to the law governing NHRC, while the committee that selects the NHRC chief is headed by the prime minister, it has the Lok Sabha speaker, home minister, leaders of opposition in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha besides deputy chairperson of Rajya Sabha as its members.
Vijaya Bharathi Sayani, a member of the NHRC, became its acting chairperson after Justice Mishra retired.
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.
Former CJIs H L Dattu and K G Balakrishnan have been at the helm of the rights body in the past.
