New Delhi, Feb 13: Proving again that he is no mere figurehead, President A P J Abdul Kalam has held back ‘‘for studied consideration’’ the appointment of the new chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
Despite being cleared by a high level committee headed by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, the file’s stuck in the President’s Secretariat, sources disclosed.
The name of Justice A S Anand as NHRC chairman and two others as members had apparently been cleared by the Prime Minister two weeks ago. The file was sent to Kalam for approval, who after consideration, is going to take a decision ‘‘soon.’’
Kalam, according to sources, was not too happy with the choice of the NHRC chief and may return the file for ‘‘reconsideration.’’ The President, in this matter, could exercise a little more power than normal since the appointment had not been made by the Council of Ministers.
‘‘According to the Constitution, it’s only in matters decided by the Council of Ministers that the President has to give his approval if the matter comes back to him unchanged after his first disapproval. In this case the decision was taken by a committee including the PM, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Leader of Opposition,’’ a Home Ministry official said.
Former Law Minister Ram Jethmalani, in a letter to the PM earlier, had raised objections over Anand’s name being cleared for the NHRC top job, saying the former Chief Justice of India was involved in some controversies, including one relating to a land deal. He had sent copies of the letter to the Dy PM and the Law Minister.
‘‘The candidate who gets appointed to the NHRC should have an impeccable service record and should have demonstrated his commitment to the cause of human rights,’’ Jethmalani stated.
The committee had also cleared the names of Nirmala Buch, former Madhya Pradesh chief secretary, and retired Supreme Court judge K T Thomas to fill the two vacant slots in the five-member body. In the absence of full strength, the functioning of the Commission was getting adversely affected.
Bureau Report
