Anup Raj Sharma, the nominee for chairperson, and Prakash Wosti, who has been nominated for appointment as a member, presented their idea of taking the national rights body forward. They stressed the need to have a more effective body to monitor the rights situation.

Wosti said the NHRC could blacklist people with poor rights record. “The commission could recommend blocking state facilities for such offenders,” he said. Three of the nominees—Sudeep Pathak, Govinda Poudel and Mohana Ansari—are to appear before the House committee on Friday. Five complaints have been lodged against their nomination.

Some lawmakers boycotted the proceedings arguing that the recommendations of the Constitutional Council, which picks names for constitutional body appointments, were non-inclusive.

The hearing committee had asked the council to explain “non-inclusiveness” in the recommendations while the council said the process met the constitutional requirement.