# SC seeks replies on vacancies in State Human Rights Commissions 2026-10-05T14:52:20+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 3 independent outlets The Supreme Court on Monday, 5 October 2026, issued notice to the Centre, the NHRC and all state governments on a plea alleging that several State Human Rights Commissions (SHRCs) are understaffed, defunct or have vacant leadership positions. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana heard the petition filed by the Association of Retired Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts of India. The petition, filed on 21 September, seeks time-bound directions to fill vacancies of chairpersons and members in compliance with the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, and the 2015 Supreme Court judgment in DK Basu vs State of West Bengal. It alleges that SHRCs in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Jharkhand are defunct. It also flags prolonged acting arrangements in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya, and seeks adequate staff, publication of annual reports, and a continuing mandamus for compliance. ## Indian Opinion Analysis All three outlets report the same event in near-identical wire-style copy, leading with the Supreme Court's notice and attributing the petition to the Association of Retired Judges. Barandbench.com carries the most detail, including specific vacancy tallies and the plea's reliance on the DK Basu judgment. Deccan Chronicle and Economic Times reproduce similar reliefs and cite the three defunct SHRCs. No outlet adopts a critical or pro-government framing, the coverage is uniform straight reporting. The court has sought responses, and the next step will be the respondents' replies, after which the bench may fix a hearing date. ## Coverage Coverage: 3 sources, 3 neutral - barandbench.com (neutral report) Straight news report, leads with court action and details petition extensively - deccanchronicle.com (neutral report) Straight news report, leads with court action and lists key reliefs sought - economictimes.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Straight news report, leads with court action and reproduces plea language This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: NHRC, Protection of Human Rights Act 1993, State Human Rights Commissions, Supreme Court, Surya Kant Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/sc-seeks-replies-on-vacancies-in-state-human-rights-commissions/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/sc-seeks-replies-on-vacancies-in-state-human-rights-commissions/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/