National Human Rights Commission of India

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.

A serving judge of the Supreme Court or incumbent 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, serving since 23 December 2024 onwards.

The other members are:

• Dr. Justice Bidyut Ranjan Sarangi - Member
• Smt Vijaya Bharathi Sayani - Member
• Shri Priyank Kanoongo - Member

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

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

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.

The National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC) had its accreditation with the U.N recognised Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) deferred for a second consecutive year in 2024, due to concerns regarding its compliance with the Paris Principles. The deferral was attributed to issues such as a lack of transparency in the appointment of NHRC members, the inclusion of police officers in human rights investigations, and inadequate gender and minority representation within the commission’s composition and political meddling.

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.