Justice Bimal Prasad Das Takes Charge As Chairperson Of OHRC

Bhubaneswar: Former Orissa High Court judge Justice Bimal Prasad Das took charge as the chairperson of Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) on Wednesday.

Disposal of pending cases and maintaining transparency will be the top priority, Justice Das said soon after taking charge.

"I will try my best to meet the expectation of the people. Equal priority will be given to everyone irrespective of their places of origin. I will ensure that pending cases are well disposed off on a priority basis, said Justice Das adding that the commission will extensively use modern technology.

Das further warned that during the course of hearing, if applications are found to be frivolous, action will be taken against the complainants.

The State government had appointed Justice Das as the OHRC chief on August 22. After the post fell vacant in 2012, there was no full-fledged chairperson of OHRC. Former judge of Orissa High Court, Justice Raghubir Dash was appointed as the acting chairperson of the OHRC on May 16, 2019.

The OHRC was established as per Section 21 of the Human Rights Protection Act, 1993 for protection and promotion of human rights of the common man in the State.