Former Chief Justice of India HL Dattu will take over as the chairman of National Human Rights Commission. The post was lying vacant since May 2015 after Justice KG Balakrishnan , who was earlier holding the post, retired.
India Legal was the first to report that Justice Dattu would be appointed as the NHRC chairman. We had shared the update on December 1st, 2015.
Born on December 3, 1950, Justice Dattu had served a reportedly long term that lasted for nearly 14 months, from 28 September 2014 to 2 December 2015. Before he was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court of India on December 17, 2008, he had served as the Chief Justice of Kerala High Court and Chhattisgarh High Court.
Justice Dattu, who is known for his penchant for hard work, and also his aversion towards pendency of cases in Indian courts, practised at Bengaluru, and has been an expert in civil, criminal, constitutional, and taxation matters.
He also appeared as government counsel in the Karnataka High court for the sales tax department from 1983 to 1990, government advocate from 1990 to 1993, standing counsel for the income tax department from 1992 to 1993, and a senior standing counsel for the Income Tax department from 1993 to 1995.
Justice Dattu is also actively involved in social work, and associated with organisations like the Rotary Club. He is a fervent devotee of Tirupati Balaji and Lord Ganesha, and a connoisseur of Carnatic music.
The former Chief Justice of India is also famous for his humanistic approach towards justice system.