Justice (Dr) Bidyut Ranjan Sarangi, former Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court joins as Member, NHRC, India
Shri Priyank Kanoongo, former NCPCR Chairperson, joined the Commission as a Member last week
Justice V Ramasubramanian, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India today assumed the charge of the Chairperson and Justice (Dr.) Bidyut Ranjan Sarangi as the Member of the National Human Rights Commission, (NHRC) India, at a function organised to welcome them and Priyank Kanoongo who joined the Commission as a Member last week. They were appointed by the Hon’ble President of India, Smt Draupadi Murmu on 21st December 2024. Smt. Vijaya Bharathi Sayani, Acting Chairperson, Secretary General, Shri Bharat Lal and other senior officers and staff of the Commission were present on the occasion.
Addressing the gathering, Justice V. Ramasubramanian highlighted India’s ancient tradition of valuing and practising human rights, even before the concept became globally recognized. Citing the Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar, he emphasized that human rights are deeply embedded in India’s cultural fabric. He also stressed that promoting and protecting human rights requires a collaborative effort among various stakeholders.
Born on June 30, 1958, in Mannargudi, Tamil Nadu, Justice V. Ramasubramanian is a distinguished former judge of the Supreme Court of India. He completed his B.Sc. in Chemistry from Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College, Chennai, and later pursued law at the Madras Law College. He was enrolled as a member of the Bar on February 16, 1983, and practised for 23 years in the Madras High Court. Justice Ramasubramanian served as an Additional Judge of the Madras High Court in 2006 and was made a permanent judge in 2009. He was transferred to the High Court of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in 2016, and after bifurcation, continued his tenure in the Telangana High Court.
In 2019, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court and, later that year, became a Judge of the Supreme Court of India. He retired from the Supreme Court on June 29, 2023, after authoring 102 judgments, including in landmark cases such as the 2016 Demonetization policy and matters involving the validity of circumstantial evidence in bribery cases.
Priyank Kanoongo, a native of Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, holds a B.Sc. in Microbiology and has been a dedicated advocate for child rights and education in India. He served as Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) for two terms from 2018 to 2024. During his tenure, Kanoongo emphasized the need for child welfare systems tailored to India’s unique cultural context, advocating for “Indian solutions to Indian problems” rather than adopting foreign models. He authored the book Pinjra-The Cage, which comprehensively explores the lives of children in care institutions.
Under his leadership, NCPCR launched several initiatives to protect children’s rights, including regulating OTT platforms to safeguard children from inappropriate content. He also introduced multiple portals to improve stakeholders engagement and resolved over 100,000 complaints during his tenure.
Justice (Dr.) Bidyut Ranjan Sarangi, born on July 20, 1962, in Nayagarh district, Odisha, is an eminent jurist known for his contributions to Indian law. He holds an LL.B. and LL.M. from M.S. Law College, Cuttack, and a Ph.D. in Law from Sambalpur University. Dr. Sarangi began his legal career in 1985, practising in civil, criminal, constitutional, and administrative law for over 27 years. He was awarded the prestigious “Haricharan Mukherjee Memorial Award” with a Gold Medal in 2002 for his exceptional performance.
On June 20, 2013, he was appointed as a Permanent Judge of the Orissa High Court, where he disposed of over 152,000 cases and authored nearly 1,500 judgments. In July 2024, he became the Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court. Justice Sarangi has contributed to various legal and administrative committees, including the Odisha State Legal Services Authority and the Juvenile Justice Committee, and is an active member of several national and international legal organizations.
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