Govt to HC: Human rights panel chief in a fortnight

Ahmedabad: The state government on Tuesday stated before Gujarat high court that it would fill in the vacant post of chairperson of Gujarat State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) within a fortnight.
The state government gave the undertaking to appoint a judicial officer on the post in response to a PIL filed by one Chandravadan Dhruv seeking appointment in the human rights commission with immediate effect.The petitioner had claimed that the post of chairperson of the commission has been lying vacant since October 16 last year. Earlier, chairman Justice J N Bhatt retired after he turned 70. He was holding the post since August 2011.
Dhruv , who argued as party in-person, submitted that after Justice Bhatt's retirement, the charge of chairman is entrusted with former IPS officer Sudhir Sinha, who is a member. He stated that the other member, being a retired judicial officer M H Shah, should have been given the charge till the vacant post of chairman if filled. Dhruv also sought an inquiry into the negligence on part of the governor, chief minister and the leader of the opposition in the assembly in not selecting and appointing the chairperson of the human rights commission, which is an important body .