Bengal Guv raises concern over govt's 'dithering' stance on appointment of SHRC chairperson

West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar expressed concern over the appointment of the chairperson of the state's human rights commission.

Kolkata:West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday expressed concern over the alleged dithering stance of the Mamata Banerjee government on the appointment of the chairperson of the state's human rights commission.

He asked the government to provide a time frame within which recommendation for appointment of the chairperson of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission will be imparted. Expressing concern over "dithering stance @MamataOfficial over appointment of Chairman State Human Rights Commission" in a tweet, the governor said, "It must take note @IndiaNHRC finding that in-state there is 'law of ruler, not rule of law' and endeavour to salvage the situation."

A fact-finding committee, appointed by the National Human Rights Commission, on alleged post-poll violence in the state, had in July said the situation in West Bengal was a "manifestation of the law of the ruler instead of rule of law". The NHRC panel was constituted following an order by a five-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court. The state government has sought the appointment of retired IPS officer Naparajit Mukherjee, a member of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission, as the acting chairperson of the body.

In a communication to the government, the governor said the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, provides that a state commission shall consist of a chairperson who has been a chief justice or a judge of a high court, while one member would be a former judge of a high court or a district judge in the state and one from amongst persons having knowledge of matters relating to human rights.

Of all the three members, including the chairperson, two are drawn from the judiciary or with judicial background, Dhankhar said. "The situation as reflected is that the present chairperson demits office on December 20, 2021, and this leaves the commission with sole member - Shri Naparajit Mukherjee", he said, adding that the commission thus will be without any member drawn from the judiciary or with the judicial background.

The governor also claimed that the state government was in the know right from the time Justice (retd) Girish Chandra Gupta took charge of the office that the post of the state's human rights commission chairperson will fall vacant on December 20. "It is not understandable as to why steps for appointment of a regular chairperson in terms of the stipulations in the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, could not be done earlier," Dhankhar said.

(PTI)