Step 1: Identify the appointed Chairman.
The correct answer is Justice V. Ramasubramaniam, who was appointed as the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission in December 2024.
Step 2: Verification of other options.
Justice Madan Bhimarao Lokur, Justice Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud, and Justice Ranjan Gogoi are notable judicial figures, but they were not appointed as the Chairman of the NHRC for the given period.
Step 3: Conclusion.
Based on the information, Justice V. Ramasubramaniam is the correct answer.
Criminology is the scientific and jurisprudential study of crime, criminal behaviour, and the penal response of the state. It operates at the intersection of law, sociology, psychology, and public policy. Its foundational principle is nullum crimen sine lege, nulla poena sine lege, stressing that there is no crime nor punishment without a pre-existing law. Traditional criminology was shaped by the Classical School, emphasizing free will and rationality. Influenced by Bentham’s utilitarianism, it viewed punishment as a deterrent mechanism, echoing audi alteram partem in demanding procedural fairness. In contrast, the Positivist School, focused on biological, psychological, and sociological causes of criminality, thereby shifting from retributive justice to rehabilitative models.
Modern criminology encompasses diverse domains like victimology, penology, white-collar crime, cybercrime, and transnational offences. The traditional ele ments of crime, mens rea and actus reus remain crucial. However, strict liability offences and corporate crimes often challenge this binary. With the advent of globalization, criminology now interfaces with international criminal law, human rights jurisprudence, and restorative justice. It aims to reintegrate the offender and provide restitution to victims. Furthermore, critical criminology interrogates how law disproportionately penalizes marginalized groups, reflecting concerns of penal populism, mass incarceration, and criminalization of poverty. This evolving discipline critiques not just criminal behaviour but the social construction of de viance itself.