Every member of the Commission, State Commission and every officer appointed or authorized by the Commission or State Commission to exercise functions under the Protection of Human Rights Act is to be deemed
- (a)Public Officer
- (b)Public Servant
- (c)Officer of Commission
- (d)None of the above
Correct — B, Public Servant. The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 expressly provides that every Member of the Commission and the State Commission, and every officer appointed or authorised to exercise functions under the Act, shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code. This deeming brings them under the penal code's provisions that protect and bind public servants while they carry out their official duties.
- (a)Public Officer — 'Public officer' is a term defined in the Code of Civil Procedure, not the status the Act confers here — the Act's chosen term is 'public servant' (an Indian Penal Code concept).
- (c)Officer of Commission — This is not a legal status recognised by the Act; the Act deems them public servants, which carries specific criminal-law protections and liabilities, rather than a vague 'officer of commission' tag.
- (d)None of the above — Incorrect, because the Act does specifically deem them public servants — a definite status is provided.
Deeming members and officers to be 'public servants' means the criminal law that applies to public servants — offences committed by them and offences committed against them — applies while they act under the Act. It formalises both accountability for their official conduct and legal protection for acts done in that official capacity.
The give-away word is 'deemed'. Statutes routinely deem functionaries to be public servants under Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code so that the penal code's provisions attach to them. 'Public Officer' is the classic distractor because it sounds similar but belongs to a different statute (the Code of Civil Procedure).
- The Act deems members and officers acting under it to be public servants in the sense of Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code.
- This brings them within the penal code's rules covering public servants.
- 'Public officer' is a Code of Civil Procedure term, not the status the Act assigns.
- The deeming covers both the NHRC and the State Commissions.
- Members of the NHRC / State Commission
- Officers appointed or authorised to act under the Act
- = Deemed PUBLIC SERVANTS (within Section 21, Indian Penal Code)
The 'deeming' pulls them under the penal code's provisions for public servants — not 'public officers' (a Civil Procedure Code term).
- Confusing 'public officer' (Civil Procedure Code) with 'public servant' (Indian Penal Code)
- Treating the status as a mere designation rather than a legal deeming with consequences
Definition/status questions of the form 'X is deemed to be ___'. Lock: members and officers acting under the Act are public servants (Section 21, Indian Penal Code).
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Under the Protection of Human Rights Act, members and officers acting under the Act are deemed to be:
- (a)public officers
- (b)public servants
- (c)civil servants
- (d)judicial officers
Answer(b) public servants.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The term 'public servant' referred to in such deeming clauses is defined under:
- (a)the Code of Civil Procedure
- (b)Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code
- (c)the Representation of the People Act
- (d)the Constitution of India
Answer(b) Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code.