Former chairpersons
| Sr No |
Name | Tenure |
| 1. | Justice Ranganath Misra | 12 October 1993 – 24 November 1996 |
| 2. | Justice M N Venkatachaliah | 26 November 1996 – 24 October 1999 |
| 3. | Justice J S Verma | 4 November 1999 – 17 January 2003 |
| 4. | Justice A S Anand | 17 February 2003 – 31 October 2006 |
| 5. | Justice S. Rajendra Babu | 2 April 2007 – 31 May 2009 |
| 6. | Justice K G Balakrishnan | 7 June 2010 – 11 May 2015 |
| 7. | Justice H.L. Dattu | 29 Feb-2016 |
Acting Chairpersons
- Justice Cyriac Joseph from May 11, 2015 to February 28, 2016
- Justice Shivaraj Patil, from November 1, 2006 to April 1, 2007
- Justice G P Mathur, from June 1, 2009 to June 6, 2010
Chairperson and Members (Present)
The chairperson of the NHRC is Justice Shri H.L. Dattu and the other members are:
- Justice Shri Cyriac Joseph
- Justice Shri D. Murugesan
- Shri Sharad Chandra Sinha
Ex-officio members:
- Shri Naseem Ahmad, Chairperson,National Commission for Minorities
- Panna Lal (P.L.) Punia, Chairperson,National Commission for Scheduled Castes
- DrRameshwar Oraon, Chairperson, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes
- Lalitha Kumaramangalam, Chairperson,National Commission for Women and aruneshwaran.v