Former Supreme Court Judge, Justice Arun Kumar Mishra on Wednesday took over as the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). He had retired from the apex court in September last year.

However, senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, dissociating himself from process of selection of new chairperson and members of National Human Rights Commission, reported PTI.

In February last year, Justice Arun Mishra was criticised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) after he heaped praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling him an “internationally acclaimed visionary” and a “versatile genius, who thinks globally and acts locally”.

Complimenting the PM and Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad for doing away with 1,500 obsolete laws, Justice Mishra had said India is a responsible and most friendly member of the international community under the “stewardship” of Modi.

Expressing “deep sense of anguish and concern” over the statement, the SCBA said, “The SCBA believes that independence of the judiciary is basic structure of the Constitution and such independence (should) be preserved in letter and spirit.”