Former Chief Justice of India Justice Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu has been selected as the next Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission. The post was lying vacant since 11 May 2015, when KG Balakrishnan demitted office after five-year term. Justice Cyriac Joseph had been functioning as the acting chairperson since then. A committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared the name of Dattu for the post.

About Dattu

65-year-old Justice Dattu had retired as Chief Justice of India on December 2 last year and after taking over as NHRC Chairperson he will have a tenure of five years. Under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, the President appoints the chairperson and members of the NHRC on the recommendation of the high-powered committee headed by the Prime Minister. Justice Dattu was Chief Justice of India from September 28, 2014 to December 2, 2015.

About NHRC

• The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India is an autonomous public 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 (TPHRA).
• The NHRC is the national human rights institution, responsible for the protection and promotion of human rights.
• The NHRC has been accredited with “A status” by the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions (the ICC), indicating that it is in conformity with the Paris Principles.