Cuttack: The Orissa high court on Wednesday adjourned till April 22 further hearing on a public interest litigation (PIL) alleging that the Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has become virtually non-functional due to key vacancies and the absence of an acting chairperson.The division bench of Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice M S Raman adjourned hearing on the matter after additional government advocate Saswat Das, representing the state, informed the court that a meeting of the High Power Committee for selection of chairperson and member of OHRC was held on March 23. “Accordingly, the selection has been made and the appointment of a new chairperson and member of OHRC will be made shortly,” Das stated before the court. The High Power Committee comprises the chief minister, speaker of legislative assembly and the leader of opposition.High court lawyer and human rights activist Prabir Kumar Das had filed the PIL on Feb 18. According to the petition, the commission is currently functioning with only one member, Chitta Ranjan Mohapatra, after the tenure of chairperson Justice Satrughana Pujahari and member Asim Amitabh Dash ended on Feb 9, 2026.The petitioner contended that the continued inaction of the state govt has weakened the institutional functioning of OHRC and sought the court’s directions for expeditious appointments to the posts of chairperson, member, secretary, director of investigation and other staff to enable the commission to function effectively and discharge its statutory mandate.The secretary of the commission retired on Aug 31, 2023, while the director of investigation retired on May 31, 2024. Both posts remain unfilled, the petition said.
