Justice Balakrishnan appointed NHRC Chairman

Former Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan has been appointed as Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission.65-year-old Balakrishnan, who retired on May 12, will be the sixth chairperson of the Commission and will have a tenure of five years.President Pratibha Patil gave her approval to his appointment after recommendation by a Parlimentary committee, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, sources said on Thursday.The post had been lying vacant since May 2009 after the retirement of Justice Rajendra Babu. Justice G P Mathur, member of the Commission, had been functioning as its acting Chairperson since then.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 when he was enrolled as an Advocate of the Kerala Bar Council. He was appointed as a Munsif in the Kerala Judicial Service in 1973. However, he resigned from the service later and resumed his practice as an advocate in the Kerala High Court.