The Bombay high court on Monday set aside existing procedure for the appointment of members of the Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, and directed the government to fill all
The Bombay high court on Monday set aside existing procedure for the appointment of members of the Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, and directed the government to fill all vacant posts of the Commission within two months as per law.
A division bench of Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Prakash Deu Naik passed the order while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by NGO, Forum for Fairness in Education, which raised several issues related to child rights and the functioning of Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights. The Commission was set up for speedy trial of offences against children or violation of child rights etc.
The bench in its order directed the government to complete recruitment of new members in the Commission within six months. Advocate Sidharth Murarka, on behalf of the petitioner, pointed out to the court that the posts of chairman and members of the Commission had been lying vacant since 2011.
The bench ordered appointment of new members after the petitioner alleged that there was lack of transparency in the appointment process which did not adhere to law and advertisement. According to the petitioner, advertisements for the posts appeared only in small newspapers. The bench was convinced and directed the government to give wide publicity to the appointment process by giving advertisements in four national newspapers having large readership. The judges said that advertisements should appear in three Marathi and one English newspaper.
The bench also said that the state should follow the National Child Rights Commission’s salary pattern and include salary in the advertisement so that people would be aware of it before applying for the post. The HC also directed the government to set up a helpline for children within two months so that anybody could complain about violation of child rights or even child beggars.
According to the court order, the government has also been asked to appoint a special public prosecutor having special training from Maharashtra Juvenile Academy to deal with matters involving children.
