National Human Rights Commission: Composition Under the 2019 Amendment, and the Deemed-Member List

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is a statutory body under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, and its composition changed in 2019 in ways that make an older description of the Commission factually wrong today, which is exactly the trap this chapter's questions are built around.

Composition, before and after the 2019 Amendment

Section 3(2) sets the Commission's composition, and the Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Act, 2019 changed two things worth holding as a before-and-after pair. The Chairperson must have been a "Chief Justice of India or a Judge of the Supreme Court", widened by the 2019 Amendment from the original text, which required a former Chief Justice of India specifically. And the Commission now has three Members (with at least one woman), up from two before 2019, appointed from among persons with knowledge of or practical experience in human rights, plus one Member who is or has been a Supreme Court Judge and one who is or has been a High Court Chief Justice.

The deemed-member list, and why it grew

Section 3(3) makes the Chairpersons of several other national commissions deemed Members of the NHRC, but only for specified functions (the Section 12 clauses covering the NHRC's review, promotional and advisory work, not its case-inquiry powers). As of the 2019 Amendment, that list is the Chairpersons of the National Commission for Backward Classes, the National Commission for Minorities, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, the National Commission for Women, and the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities. The NCBC's inclusion specifically dates to its own 2018 elevation to a constitutional body (the 102nd Amendment, Article 338B); its Chairperson was added to this deemed-member list only once that change put it on comparable footing with the SC and ST Commissions already on it.

Appointment: a six-member committee, not the President alone

The Chairperson and Members are appointed by the President, but only after a six-member committee recommends them: the Prime Minister (Chairperson of the committee), the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Union Home Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, and the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. A sitting Supreme Court Judge or sitting High Court Chief Justice can only be appointed after separate consultation with the Chief Justice of India, on top of this committee's own recommendation.

Term, and the Secretary-General's role

The Chairperson and Members hold office for three years from the date of entering office, or until age 70, whichever is earlier, and both are eligible for re-appointment; a Member additionally cannot serve past age 70 regardless of remaining term. On ceasing to hold office, a Chairperson or Member becomes ineligible for further government employment, the same category of restriction the CAG carries under Article 148(4). A separate Secretary-General, appointed as the Commission's Chief Executive Officer, handles administrative and financial powers under the Chairperson's control, but not the Commission's judicial functions or its power to make regulations.

Quick revision points

• Statutory, under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.
• Composition (post-2019): Chairperson (former CJI or a Supreme Court Judge), 1 sitting/former SC Judge, 1 sitting/former HC Chief Justice, 3 Members (at least one woman).
• Deemed Members (for specified functions only): Chairpersons of NCBC, NCM, NCPCR, NCSC, NCST, NCW, plus the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities.
• Appointment committee: PM, Lok Sabha Speaker, Home Minister, Leader of Opposition (both Houses), Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. CJI consultation additionally required for a sitting judge.
• Term: 3 years or age 70, whichever is earlier; eligible for re-appointment; no further government employment after ceasing office.

The 2019 Amendment is what makes this chapter genuinely current rather than a fixed fact set; a question describing the old 2-Member, CJI-only Chairperson structure as if it still holds is testing whether you know the amendment happened, not just the original Act.