Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu, former CJI, has been appointed as NHRC Chairperson. Having retired on December 02, 2015 on attaining 65 years of age Dattu will have a 05 years long tenure as NHRC Chairperson. The name will be sent to the President Pranab Mukherjee for his nod. A committee headed by PM cleared the name of Dattu for the post fell vacant on May 12, 2015 after Justice Balakrishnan; the sixth and longest serving Chairperson, completed his tenure on May 11. Under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, the President appoints the chairperson and members of the NHRC on the recommendation of the high-powered committee headed by the Prime Minister. Justice Dattu enrolled as an advocate in 1975 and began practising in Bangalore. He served as CJI from September 28, 2014 to December 2, 2015.