RAS question
NHRC was established under:
Correct answer: (B) Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.
The National Human Rights Commission of India was established under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.
Explanation
NHRC is not a constitutional body, a court-created body, or a body set up merely by executive instruction; it is a statutory body under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. The National Human Rights Commission, India page supports this directly, stating that the National Human Rights Commission of India was established on 12 October 1993 and that the statute under which it is established is the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, as amended by the Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Act, 2019. A statutory design feature is that the Chairperson must be a retired Chief Justice of India. So the exam point is the legal source of creation, not the broader constitutional value of human rights.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) A Supreme Court directive is not the source of NHRC's creation; the National Human Rights Commission, India page identifies the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 as the statute under which it was established.
- (C) A constitutional provision is not the establishing instrument for NHRC, because it is a statutory body and the official page names the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.
- (D) An executive order would create an administrative body by government instruction, whereas NHRC is grounded in a statute, the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.
Concept
This tests the distinction between constitutional, statutory, executive and judicially created bodies in Indian Polity. It recurs in RAS because commissions such as NHRC are often asked through their legal source and institutional status.