The National Human Rights Commission has been without a full-time chairperson since former Supreme Court judge Justice Arun Kumar Mishra’s tenure finished on June 1 this year. Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had led a high-level committee comprising of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge.
Since this meeting on Wednesday when the leaders had met to consider names for the new chief of the NHRC, reports claiming that former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud was in contention were doing rounds.
However, Justice Chandrachud has dismissed reports of him being considered for the post of the National Human Rights Commission chairperson, saying that he is enjoying his retired life as a private person and that these are just rumours.
“It is just a rumour. Nobody has spoken to me about this and I am loving my life as a private citizen. I am enjoying my retired life,” he told NDTV.
NHRC is headed by either a former Chief Justice of India or a retired judge of the Supreme Court. Since the chairperson’s post is vacant, Supreme Court judge Vijaya Bharathi Sayani is serving as the commission’s acting chairperson.
Previously, the post was held by former Chief Justice HL Dattu, who was appointed in 2016. Former CJI KG Balakrishnan also served as the chairperson between 2010 and 2016.
Justice Chandrachud’s two-year tenure as the Chief Justice of India ended this year in November as a result of which he demitted office on November 10. During his stint as the 50th CJI, Chandrachud passed significant judgements as he headed the Constitution bench which scrapped Article 370, giving special status to Jammu and Kashmir. Other landmark judgements made by him include the Ayodhya verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute in 2019, decrminalising homo-sexuality, striking down the electoral bonds, and banning caste-based discrimination among others.
