Former Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan has been appointed as Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Balakrishnan (65), who retired on May 12, is the sixth chairperson of the Commission and will have tenure of five years.
President Pratibha Patil gave her approval to his appointment after recommendation by a Parliamentary committee headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The post had been vacant since May 2009 after the retirement of Justice Rajendra Babu.
Balakrishnan, born on May 12, 1945 at Thalayolaparambu in Kottayam district of Kerala, was the Chief Justice of India from January 2007 to May this year. He began his legal career in 1968 as an Advocate of the Kerala Bar Council.