THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: State Human Rights Commission judicial member K Baijunath may be given the charge of Acting Chairperson by the Governor. With the Governor not accepting the recommendation to appoint former High Court Chief Justice Manikumar as the Chairperson of the Commission, the state government has recommended to the Governor that the charge of Acting Chairperson should be handed over to another member of the Commission. Apart from Baijunath, another member is VK Beenakumari. The Chief Minister recommended to the Governor that one of them should be given the charge of Acting Chairperson.

Last month, the Governor had reappointed Baijunath for a 3-year term after accepting the recommendation of the committee, which includes the Chief Minister, the Speaker and the Opposition Leader. Baijunath was appointed as a judicial member of the Human Rights Commission in 2021 while serving as the District and Sessions Judge of Kalpetta. Baijunath was appointed as the Acting Chairperson after Justice Anthony Dominic retired from the post of Chairperson last May.