# National Human Rights Commission of India

The National Human Rights Commission of India (abbreviated as NHRC) is a statutory body constituted on 12 October 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Ordinance of 28 September 1993. It was given a statutory basis by the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 (PHRA). The NHRC is responsible for the protection and promotion of human rights, which is defined by the act as "rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the International Covenants and enforceable by courts in India".

## Functions of NHRC

The Protection of Human Rights Act mandates the NHRC to perform the following:
* Proactively or reactively inquire into violations of human rights by the government of India or negligence of such violation by a public servant
* The protection of human rights and recommend measures for their effective implementation
* Review the factors, including acts of terrorism that inhibit the enjoyment of human rights and recommend appropriate remedial measures
* To study treaties and other international instruments on human rights and make recommendations for their effective implementation
* Undertake and promote research in the field of human rights
* To visit jails and study the condition of inmates
* Engage in human rights education among various sections of society and promote awareness of the safeguards available for the protection of these rights through publications, the media, seminars and other available means
* Encourage the efforts of NGOs and institutions that work in the field of human rights voluntarily.
* Considering the necessity for the protection of human rights.
* Requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or office.

## Composition

The NHRC consists of the chairperson and five members (excluding the ex-officio members)
* A Chairperson, who has been a Chief Justice of India or a Judge of the Supreme Court.
* One member who is, or has been, a Judge of the Supreme Court of India and one member who is, or has been, the Chief Justice of a High Court.
* Three Members, out of which at least one shall be a woman to be appointed from amongst persons having knowledge of, or practical experience in, matters relating to human rights.
* In addition, the Chairpersons of National Commissions viz., National Commission for Scheduled Castes, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, National Commission for Women, National Commission for Minorities, National Commission for Backward Classes, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights; and the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities serve as ex officio members.
The sitting Judge of the Supreme Court or sitting Chief Justice of any High Court can be appointed only after the consultation with the Chief Justice of India.

### Chairman and members

Justice V. Ramasubramanian is the current chairperson of the commission from 23 December 2024 onwards. .The other members are:
Ex-officio members:
* Chairperson, National Commission for Scheduled Castes
* Chairperson, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes
* Chairperson, National Commission for Minorities
* Chairperson, National Commission for Women
* Chairperson, National Commission for Backward Classes
* Chairperson, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
* Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities

### Core Groups

Source:
* Core Group on Older Persons
* Core Advisory Group on Environment, Climate Change & Human Rights
* Core Group on Human Rights Defenders and NGOs
* Core Advisory Group on Bonded Labour
* Core group on LGBTI issues
* Core Advisory Group on Business and Human Rights
* Core Group on Disabilities
* Core group on Health and Mental Health
* Core Group on Right to Food
* Core Group on Rights of Women
* Core Group of NGOs in the Commission
* Core Advisory Group on Criminal Justice System Reforms
* Core Group on Mental Health in the Commission Order

## State Human Rights Commission

A state government may constitute a body known as the Human Rights Commission of that State to exercise the powers conferred upon and to perform the functions assigned to a State Commission. In accordance with the amendment brought in TPHRA, 1993 point No.10 below is the list of State Human Rights Commissions formed to perform the functions of the commission as stated under chapter V of TPHRA, 1993 (with amendment act 2006). At present, 25 states have constituted SHRC
| State Commission | City | Date constituted |
| Assam Human Rights Commission | Guwahati | 19 January 1996 |
| Andhra Pradesh State Human Rights Commission | Kurnool | 2 August 2006 |
| Bihar Human Rights Commission | Patna | 3 January 2000 |
| Chhattisgarh Human Rights Commission | Raipur | 16 April 2001 |
| Gujarat State Human Rights Commission | Gandhinagar | 12 September 2006 |
| Goa Human Rights Commission | Panaji | 2011 |
| Meghalaya State Human Rights Commission | Shillong | July 2016 |
| Himachal Pradesh State Human Rights Commission | Shimla | -- |
| Kerala State Human Rights Commission | Thiruvananthapuram | 11 December 1998 |
| Karnataka State Human Rights Commission | Bangalore | 28 June 2005 |
| Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission | Bhopal | 1 September 1995 |
| Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission | Mumbai | 6 March 2001 |
| Manipur State Human Rights Commission | Imphal | 2003 |
| Odisha Human Rights Commission | Bhubaneswar | 27 January 2000 |
| Punjab State Human Rights Commission | Chandigarh | 17 March 1997 |
| Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission | Jaipur | 18 January 1999 |
| State Human Rights Commission Tamil Nadu | Chennai | 17 April 1997 |
| Uttar Pradesh Human Rights Commission | Lucknow | 7 October 2002 |
| West Bengal Human Rights Commission | Kolkata | 8 January 1994 |
| Jharkhand State Human Rights Commission | Ranchi | 2010 |
| Sikkim State Human Rights Commission | Gangtok | 18 October 2008 |
| Uttarakhand Human Rights Commission | Dehradun | 13 May 2013 |
| Haryana Human Rights Commission | Chandigarh | 2012 |
| Tripura Human Rights Commission | Agartala | 2015 |
| Telangana State Human Rights Commission | Hyderabad | 2019 |

## Appointment

Sections 2, 3 and 4 of TPHRA lay down the rules for appointment to the NHRC. The chairperson and members of the NHRC are appointed by the President of India, on the recommendation of a committee consisting of:
* The Prime Minister (chairperson)
* The Home Minister
* The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha (Lower House)
* The Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House)
* The Speaker of the Lok Sabha (Lower House)
* The Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha (Upper House)

## List of Chairpersons of the National Human Rights Commission of India

| Sr. No. | Name | Tenure | Tenure |
| 1. | Justice Ranganath Misra | 12 October 1993 | 24 November 1996 |
| 2. | Justice M N Venkatachaliah | 26 November 1996 | 24 October 1999 |
| 3. | Justice J S Verma | 4 November 1999 | 17 January 2003 |
| 4. | Justice A S Anand | 17 February 2003 | 31 October 2006 |
| - | Justice Shivaraj Patil (Acting) | 1 November 2006 | 1 April 2007 |
| 5. | Justice S. Rajendra Babu | 2 April 2007 | 31 May 2009 |
| - | Justice G. P. Mathur (Acting) | 1 June 2009 | 6 June 2010 |
| 6. | Justice K G Balakrishnan | 7 June 2010 | 11 May 2015 |
| - | Justice Cyriac Joseph (Acting) | 11 May 2015 | 28 February 2016 |
| 7. | Justice H.L. Dattu | 29 February 2016 | 2 December 2020 |
| – | Justice Prafulla Chandra Pant (Acting) | 25 April 2021 | 1 June 2021 |
| 8. | Justice Arun Kumar Mishra | 2 June 2021 | 1 June 2024 |
| _ | Vijaya Bharathi Sayani (Acting) | 2 June 2024 | 30 December 2024 |
| 9. | Justice V. Ramasubramanian | 30 December 2024 | Incumbent |

## Controversy

A report concerning how the Shivani Bhatnagar murder case was rejected, a case involving high-ranking officials, opened the organisation up to questioning over the usefulness of human rights commissions set up by the government at the national and state levels. In mid-2011, the chairman of the NHRC, ex-Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan came under a cloud for allegedly owning assets disproportionate to his income. His son-in-law P. V. Srinijan, an Indian National Congress politician, had to resign for suddenly coming into possession of land worth Rs. 25 lakhs. Many prominent jurists, including former CJ J. S. Verma, SC ex-Judge V. R. Krishna Iyer, noted jurist Fali S. Nariman, former NHRC member Sudarshan Agrawal and prominent activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan, have called on Balakrishnan's resignation pending from the NHRC pending inquiry. In February 2012, the Supreme Court of India inquired of the government regarding the status of the inquiry.

## Human Rights Campaign's recommendations

The NHRC held that 16 out of 19 police encounters with suspected Maoists in Guntur and Kurnool districts of Andhra Pradesh, prior to 2002, were fake and recommended the Government payment of compensation of ₹5 lakh each to the kin of the families.