Justice Kodandaram Challa of the Hyderabad High Court on Friday set aside the appointments made to the posts of chairman and members of the Telangana State Commission for Protection of Child Rights as the procedure contemplated under the Act and rules was not followed.
The judge was allowing a batch of writ petitions filed separately by Acthuta Rao, Srinivasa Rao, Nageswar Rao and Ramu. They contended that the provisions of the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005, and the Telangana State Commission for Protection of Child Rights Rules 2014 were violated. It may be recalled that when the cases were filed, the judge ordered status quo and called for records. On Friday, the batch of petitions was allowed.
The court felt that the qualifications of having experience in the fields of child rights, health, education, and child welfare would have to be the basis for selection. The appointment has to be made by a three-member committee headed by the Minister for Child Welfare. It was noticed, however, that without consulting the chairman, the recommendations were made by two members. The appointment of Ravi Kumar as chairman, Sobharani, Jayasree, Ramalila, Anjan Rao, Revathi Devi and Srinivasa Rao as members was faulted by the court. All these appointments were set aside.
The judge observed that the provisions of the act and rules regarding procedure and qualifications should be followed while making fresh appointments.