Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has approved the appointment of retired Chief Justice of Kerala High Court S. Manikumar as the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) chairperson.
Nevertheless, the government must move the Election Commission of India to ratify the appointment, given the prevalence of the Model Code of Conduct.
Mr. Khan’s reluctance to assent to the controversial appointment had been a sore point between Raj Bhavan and the government, along with other issues such as “belatedly” sending crucial Bills for Presidential assent.
The LDF had accused Mr. Khan of stalling the Assembly’s legislative prerogative by not signing Bills passed by the House into law and sending several for Rashtrapathi Bhavan’s reference after procrastinating for years.
Mr. Khan had also overruled Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan’s resistance to Mr. Manikumar’s appointment.
In an objection note sent to the government in 2023, Mr. Satheesan alleged that Mr. Manikumar’s actions as Chief Justice of the Kerala Hight Court had raised the question of whether he could discharge his duty as SHRC Chairperson in a non-partisan and just manner.
Mr. Satheesan had alleged a conflict of interest in the government hosting an official send-off for the outgoing Chief Justice.
Mr. Satheesan said the Leader of the Opposition was a panel member mandated to select a person to the sensitive top post. The Chief Minister and the Speaker were the other two permanent members.
Mr. Satheesan alleged that the government forsook the political propriety of keeping the Leader of the Opposition in the loop and arbitrarily decided on an individual they liked.
The government submitted no panel of candidates to the selection committee to make an informed choice. Instead, it chose to present a single name in the meeting. “The government action is anti-democratic, arbitrary and pregnant with political intrigue,” he had said.
