MPPSC 2022 Prelims Paper-I · Question 21 of 100

Correct — B, The Chief Minister. Under Section 22 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, the Chairperson and Members of a State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) are appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of a committee headed by the Chief Minister, with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, the State Home Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly as the other members.

• (a)The Governor — The Governor is the appointing authority who acts on the committee's recommendation — he does not sit on, let alone chair, the recommending committee.
• (c)The Chief Justice — The State Chief Justice plays no role in this recommending committee; consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court applies only when appointing a sitting/retired judge as a Member — a separate provision, not the committee chair.
• (d)The Advocate General — The Advocate General is the state's chief law officer and has no statutory role in the SHRC appointment process.

The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 sets up a two-step appointment process for State Human Rights Commissions: a political committee recommends names, and the Governor formally appoints. That committee is chaired by the Chief Minister, mirroring the NHRC's own selection committee, which is chaired by the Prime Minister.

MPPSC tests this by swapping in plausible-but-wrong chairs (Governor, Chief Justice, Advocate General) because students often assume the appointing authority (Governor) also heads the recommending committee — the Act deliberately keeps the two roles separate.

• SHRC recommending committee (Section 22, Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993) is chaired by the Chief Minister
• Other committee members: the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and the State Home Minister
• The Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly is also a member of the recommending committee
• The Governor appoints on the committee's recommendation but does not sit on the committee itself

• Assuming the Governor, as appointing authority, also chairs the recommending committee
• Confusing the SHRC committee (Chief Minister-chaired) with the NHRC committee (Prime Minister-chaired)

MPPSC frequently asks 'who chairs / who is included / who is NOT included' in this SHRC committee — lock the closed list: Chief Minister (chair), Speaker, Home Minister, Leader of Opposition.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, the committee that recommends the Chairperson and Members of the National Human Rights Commission is headed by:

  • (a)President
  • (b)Prime Minister
  • (c)Chief Justice of India
  • (d)Speaker of Lok Sabha

  Answer(b) Prime Minister — the NHRC's recommending committee is chaired by the PM, just as the SHRC's parallel committee is chaired by the Chief Minister.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Chairperson and Members of a State Human Rights Commission are formally appointed by:

  • (a)Chief Minister
  • (b)Governor
  • (c)President
  • (d)Chief Justice of the High Court

  Answer(b) Governor — acting on the recommendation of the committee headed by the Chief Minister.