Who among the following is NOT a member of the National Human Rights Commission?

Correct — D. The District Magistrate is a state executive officer. Nothing in the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 puts a DM on the Commission, and a serving district officer could hardly sit on a body that inquires into complaints against the district administration.

The other three descriptions are statutory. A former Chief Justice of India or Judge of the Supreme Court chairs the NHRC, and judges who have served on the Supreme Court and as Chief Justice of a High Court sit as members.

The odd one out is option (d).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court — A former Chief Justice of India is the classic NHRC chairperson, the office the Act names first. That places the description inside the Commission, not outside it.
• (b)
  Former Judge of the Supreme Court — The Act reserves a seat for a person who is or has been a Judge of the Supreme Court, and since the 2019 amendment such a judge may chair the Commission as well.
• (c)
  Former Chief Justice of the High Court — One member is or has been the Chief Justice of a High Court. The Act says so in terms, so this cannot be the exception the question wants.

The NHRC is a statutory body, created by the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, not by the Constitution.

Its full-time membership is judicial plus expert: the chairperson, two judicial members, and three members with knowledge or practical experience of human rights, of whom at least one must be a woman.

Alongside them sit deemed members — the chairpersons of the national commissions for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Women, Minorities and Backward Classes, the NCPCR, and the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities.

Appointments are made by the President on the recommendation of a committee headed by the Prime Minister.

Key facts

• The NHRC was set up under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.
• Since the 2019 amendment the chairperson may be a former Chief Justice of India or a former Judge of the Supreme Court.
• The chairperson and members are appointed by the President on the recommendation of a committee headed by the Prime Minister.
• The NHRC's recommendations to government are advisory and not binding.

Common traps

• Calling the NHRC a constitutional body. It is statutory.
• Assuming that a District Magistrate's law-and-order role brings a seat on the Commission.

No directly related past PYQ was found.