A Sitting Judge of the High Court or a Sitting District Judge can be appointed as a member of the State Human Rights Commission after consultation with

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — B, the Chief Justice of the High Court of the concerned State. The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) is set up under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. To protect the independence of the serving judiciary, the Act's provision on the Commission's composition carries a proviso that no sitting Judge of a High Court and no sitting District Judge may be appointed a Member except after consultation with the Chief Justice of that State's High Court. The consultation is therefore with the High Court's Chief Justice — not the Governor, the Chief Justice of India, or the President.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) The Governor formally appoints the SHRC's Chairperson and Members (by warrant), but the specific consultation required before drafting in a sitting judge is with the High Court's Chief Justice, not with the Governor.  (c) The Chief Justice of India is consulted for appointing a sitting judge to the National Human Rights Commission — that is the Union body's rule, not the State Commission's.  (d) The President has no role in appointing State Commission members; at the State level the appointing authority is the Governor and the consulting authority is the High Court's Chief Justice.

Concept: The State Human Rights Commission is a statutory body a State constitutes under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. Because its Members can be drawn from the serving judiciary, the Act does not let the executive freely pick a sitting judge: a sitting High Court judge or a sitting District judge can be made a Member only after the concerned State High Court's Chief Justice has been consulted.

State PCS 2018 Q96 — Indian Polity PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2018 Q96 — Indian Polity PYQ with Answer