The Supreme Court Tuesday rejected a review petition against its judgment upholding the appointment of former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chief P.C. Sharma as a member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

A three-member bench comprising judges K.G. Balakrishnan, B.P. Singh and S.B. Sinha dismissed the petition filed by the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) against its April 29 judgment.

A bench comprising judges N. Santosh Hegde (since retired), B.P. Singh and S.B. Sinha had rejected the PUCL's argument that the public perception of the Indian police force as a whole was so poor that it considered the police as an organisation to be a violator of human rights.

Therefore, PUCL said, appointing a police officer to the NHRC would erode the people's confidence.

The bench had then observed: "Public displeasure as presently perceived is not confined to the police force only. The views expressed in the media very often show that this displeasure is reflected against many a department of the government including constitutional bodies and if public displeasure or perception were to be the yardstick to exclude people from holding constitutional or statutory offices then many such posts in the country may have to be kept vacant."

Further the judges asked: "What is the yardstick to measure public perception? Admittedly, there is no barometer to gauge the perception of the people. In a democracy there are many people who get elected by thumping majority to high legislative offices.

"Many a times public perception of a class of society in regard to such people may be that they are not desirable to hold such post but can such a public opinion deprive such people from occupying constitutional or statutory offices without there being a law to the contrary?"

The bench was of the view that there was qualitative difference between public prejudice and judicial condemnation of an institution based on public perception.

Public perception had no role to play in the selection of an otherwise eligible person from becoming a member of the NHRC under the Protection of Human Rights Act, it said.

A bench of judges Y.K. Sabharwal and D.M. Dharmadhikari had given a split verdict on the PUCL petition challenging Sharma's appointment.

As a result, the matter was referred to a three-judge bench headed by Hegde. This bench dismissed the petition. The review petition was filed against this judgment.