Who is Justice V Ramasubramanian? Ex-Supreme Court judge appointed as new National Human Rights Commission chief

V Ramasubramanian, the former Supreme Court judge, has been appointed the new chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). He is preceded by Justice (retd) Arun Kumar Mishra, who completed his term on June 1. Since then, the post of NHRC chairperson had been lying vacant. 

Who preceds Justice V Ramasubramanian?

The eighth chairperson of the rights panel, Arun Kumar Mishra, was appointed to its top post in June 2021. Arun Kumar Mishra, who was a former Supreme Court judge, was 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 succeeded former Chief Justice of India H L Dattu.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led high-powered committee convened a meeting on December 18, where the next chairperson of the NHRC was selected, PTI reported citing sources.

President appoints NHRC chairperson on the recommendation of the selection committee. Typically, a former chief justice of India or a retired judge of the top court are appointed as NHRC chief. “The NHRC received the communication about the appointment today,” PTI quoted a senior official as saying.

Justice (retd) Ramasubramanian, who previously served as a judge of the Supreme Court, was appointed the chairperson of the Commission. In the past, former CJIs H L Dattu and K G Balakrishnan, among others were appointed as the head of the Human Rights body.

Taking to social media platform X, the NHRC 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."

Notably, Priyank Kanoongo served as a chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) earlier. "And now as member of the NHRC, I will try to fulfil the responsibilities expected of me," he said on Monday.

(With PTI inputs)