THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A new fact-finding report on Anupama S Chandran’s case of child adoption row has urged the government to immediately make public the report of the official inquiry into the case and remove the guilty from their posts pending the findings of a judicial inquiry into their actions.
The fact-finding report, which was released in the public domain, has been formulated by an independent group of feminist intellectuals and activists who started an investigation into the incident in December. The investigation was initiated by Althea Sisterhood, a collective formed during Anupama and her husband Ajith’s fight to bring back their baby.
J Devika, writer and professor at the Centre for Development Studies, who is part of the Althea Sisterhood, has said the incident showed the perversion of the governance. “The casteist hounding of Ajith, the collusion of state agencies to deny justice, family honour and political highhandedness are all at play here. We want the government to take action and also release the department-level inquiry report on the public domain,” said Devika.
The report has been created by professor Nivedita Menon (JNU); Cynthia Stephen, an activist on Dalit rights and women’s rights; Enakshi Ganguly, researcher and activist on women’s and children’s rights; J M Rugma, lawyer and legal researcher and Kalyani Menon Sen, independent researcher and feminist activist.
The report also discusses the subversion of public institutions to protect political interests when Jayachandran, Anupama’s father and CPM local committee member, used his clout to subvert justice.
It also critiques the appointment to the State Commission and CWCs and alleges that people with little or no orientation or experience get appointed.
“There is only one ethical option available to the Kerala government: A humble acknowledgement of failures in its duty, immediate steps to remedy the miscarriage of justice in Anupama’s case, hold the violators accountable for their actions and ensure complete transparency in the process,” said the report.
Stressing vitality of democracy
Noting that the state government and its machinery failed to provide due justice to Anupama, the report highlights the need to radically ensure a democratic and unbiased way of functioning of the state welfare bodies.