National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairperson Justice AS Anand retired on Tuesday after serving the Commission for more than three years. Former Supreme Court judge Justice Ruma Pal, according to sources, was in the reckoning for the coveted job along with six former Chief Justices of India.

Her name is being considered because of the recent changes made in the original Protection of Human Rights Act, that had limited the selection of chairpersons to former CJIs. The amended Act has widened the choice for the government. Others in the race are SP Bharucha, BN Kripal, GB Pattanaik, VN Khare, Rajendra Babu and RC Lahoti.

Anand's tenure saw, among other important decisions, the judgment in the Punjab mass cremation case as well as monitoring of rehabilitation in post-riot Gujarat and development work in the starvation-affected districts of Orissa.