HC seeks report on appointment of MHRC chief
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, June 13 2025: The Manipur High Court has sought a report on the appointment of the Chairperson of the of the Manipur Human Rights Commission (MHRC).

On June 2, the High Court had directed the Advocate General of the State to obtain a comprehensive report from the competent authority regarding the appointment of a Chairperson to the MHRC.

The bench comprising Chief Justice K Somashekar and Justice A Guneshwar Sharma heard the matter physically, with appearances by counsel for the petitioner O Kiranjit, and Advocate General Lenin Hijam for the State.

During the hearing, the Advocate General cited Section 21(2)(a) of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, which mandates that the Chairperson must have been a Chief Justice or a Judge of a High Court.

In response, the petitioner's counsel invoked Section 25 of the Act, which allows an existing Member to act as Chairperson under certain conditions.

The Court took note of the arguments and referred to office notings related to implementation under Section 2(1) of the Act, deciding to list the connected PIL No 4 of 2025 and MC(PIL) No 7 of 2025 on June 13, 2025.This development follows a series of hearings regarding the inaction over MHRC appointments.

On May 21, 2025, the Advocate General had informed the Court that the name of the new Chairperson had been finalized and was awaiting formal approval.

HC notes non-appointment of MHRC chief The Court granted the State 10 days to file a report and adjourned the matter to June 2.Earlier, on April 2, 2025, the High Court had issued notice to Chief Secretary PK Singh in a PIL filed by Okram Nutankumar Singh, seeking immediate appointments to MHRC and urging the Court to authorize the lone Member as Acting Chairperson under Section 25(1) of the Act.

Despite repeated appeals - including a letter from MHRC Under Secretary Md Ziaur Rahman dated June 12, 2025, the Commission has remained non-functional since August 24, 2024, following the retirement of Chairperson Justice Utpalendu Bikas Saha.

A prior request sent to the Law Commissioner on September 2, 2024, for interim arrangements has not been acted upon.

With 338 cases pending, including 322 before Justice Saha's retirement and 16 registered afterward, the PIL argued that the State's delay undermines human rights protections and denies justice to victims.

The MHRC had previously disposed of more than 1,300 cases before becoming inactive.

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