Ex-SC judge V Ramasubramanian appointed new NHRC chairperson

Justice Ramasubramanian retired on June 29, 2023, after serving for over three years as a Supreme Court judge. During his tenure, he was part of several benches in important cases, including the five-judge bench that upheld the Centre’s demonetisation scheme in 2023 and the decision to set aside an RBI circular that stated it would not provide services to individuals and businesses dealing with cryptocurrency.

His legal career began after he completed his LLB from Madras Law College in 1983. He practised at the Madras High Court for 23 years before he was appointed as a judge of the same court on July 31, 2006.

At his own request, he was transferred to the High Court for the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in April 2016 and remained in Hyderabad after the court was bifurcated and served as a judge of the Telangana High Court until he was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court on June 22, 2019. Three months later, on September 23, he was elevated to the Supreme Court of India.

The previous NHRC chairman, Justice Arun Mishra, completed his term on June 1, 2024. It has since been functioning under the aegis of Acting Chairperson Vijaya Bharati Sayani. The NHRC is empowered to investigate allegations of human rights violations, either of its own accord or after receiving a petition from a victim (or someone on their behalf). It may also intervene as a party in ongoing cases concerning human rights violations, make recommendations aimed at protecting human rights, and conduct or promote research in related fields.

Previous chairpersons also include former Chief Justices of India Ranganath Mishra (the first NHRC Chairperson), M N Venkatachaliah, J S Verma, A S Anand, S Rajendra Babu, K G Balakrishnan and H L Dattu.

Until 2019 only former Chief Justices of India could be appointed as NHRC chairperson. However, in July 2019, the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, was amended to also allow former SC judges for the post.

Following Justice Mishra, Justice Ramasubramanian will now be the second NHRC chairperson to have never served as Chief Justice of India.