Delhi sets up its first State Humans Rights Commission

Delhi government will set up its first State Human Rights Commission after the Chief Justice of India expressed concern over absence of such a body in the national capital for over two decades. A senior government official said that Justice Uma Nath Singh as Chairperson and social activist Raj Mangal as the member of the SHRC have been unanimously selected by the Committee constituted to form the State Human Rights Commission. The selection committee comprised of Chief Minister, Home Minister, Delhi Assembly Speaker and the Leader of Opposition. In July 2015, the Supreme Court had asked the Delhi government to set up the SHRC within six months. The court had observed that the government had failed to appoint the SHRC despite the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, being enacted 22 years ago.
 
About HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India is an autonomous public body constituted on 12 October 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Ordinance of 28 September 1993. It was given a statutory basis by the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 (TPHRA). The NHRC is the national human rights institution, responsible for the protection and promotion of human rights, defined by the Act as “rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the International Covenants”.