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Kerala firm on Dinakar as rights panel chief

C. Gouridasan Nair

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The Kerala Government has returned the file relating to nomination of former Jharkhand High Court Chief Justice N. Dinakar as Chairperson of the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) to Governor R. L. Bhatia, requesting him to reconsider his objection to the nomination.

Communication

In a communication accompanying the relevant documents, Law Minister M. Vijayakumar urged the Governor to reconsider his earlier decision to return the file to the Government as the nomination was based on the verdict of the Kerala High Court in a related case.

The court, he said, had held the former chairperson V. P. Mohan Kumar ineligible to hold the office, as he had not served as Chief Justice of any High Court as required under the law.

The Minister also informed the Governor that there was no bar on Mr. Mohan Kumar, former Acting Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court, continuing as a member of the commission, along with another former High Court judge, Lakshmikutty Amma. Although the law stipulated that there must be a person in the rank of District Judge among the three judicial members, there was nothing wrong in the Government's perception that a person who had held a higher rank in the judiciary should be made a member of the commission, he said.

The Governor, it may be recalled, had returned the file relating to the nominations reportedly on account of the impending consideration of the Human Rights Commission (Amendment) Bill by the Lok Sabha and the objections raised by Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy to the nomination of Mr. Dinakar as chairperson of the commission.

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