The delay in appointing the chairperson and members to the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) has almost paralysed the key rights body in the State.
While the commission is without a full-time chairperson since December 2021, all six members retired in July 2022. With no members, and hence no quorum, the quasi-judicial authority, now led by an acting chairperson, Jayashree, is unable to pass any orders.
Backlog of cases
This has led to a large backlog of cases at the commission. According to KSCPCR data, 532 cases related to various child rights violations are pending. Among these, the highest number of cases pertains to the Right To Education (RTE) Act and transfer certificate (TC) and other issues concerning education.
While the commission continues to receive complaints from the public on child rights violations, it is holding no further inquiry. Instead, the commission is referring key cases pertaining to harassment, missing children, child marriage, and child labour to the Child Welfare Committees and cases pertaining to the RTE Act and TCs to the District Education Regulating Authority (DERA) at the district level for further action.
The commission registered a suo motu case against Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, seer of Murugha Mutt in Chitradurga over the allegation of sexual abuse and in a case where a tution teacher killed a 10-year-old girl at Malavalli in Mandya. However, the commission has not conducted an inquiry and no further orders have been passed in these crucial cases.
File pending for CM’s assent
Sources said the State government has completed the process of selecting six members and the chairperson and the file is pending for Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s assent for the past four months. The State government called for applications for the post of the chairperson on February 1, 2022, and for members on July 11, 2022.
Many activists have also questioned the propriety of Jayashree, whose tenure as a member of the commission ended in July 2022, being continued as in-charge chairperson.
“There are several complaints pertaining to the RTE Act pending with the commission. For the past six months, the State government has ignored our repeated appeals to appoint a full-time chairperson and members to the commission,” said Yogananda of RTE Parents’ Association.
