NEW DELHI: The mechanism to select the chairperson and member of NHRC was “flawed” and a “predetermined” exercise as it did not involve “consultation and consensus”, leaders of opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi said in their dissent note.
Congress had proposed the names of former SC judges, Justices K M Joseph and Rohinton Fali Nariman, for chairperson and Justices S Muralidhar and Akil Abdulhamid Qureshi for the post of member.
In their dissent note, Kharge and Rahul recorded their disagreement “without prejudice to the names of the chairperson and member approved by the selection committee” on the ground that the selection process adopted by the committee was “fundamentally flawed”.
“It was a predetermined exercise that ignored the established tradition of mutual consultation and consensus, which is essential in such matters. This departure undermines the principles of fairness and impartiality, which are critical to the credibility of the selection committee,” the note said, adding that govt’s attitude to the meeting and to the opposition’s proposals was dismissive.
“…Instead of fostering deliberation and ensuring a collective decision, the committee relied on its numerical majority to finalise the names, disregarding the legitimate concerns and perspectives raised during the meeting,” Kharge and Rahul said.
