HYDERABAD: In a setback to the Telangana government, the Hyderabad High Court on Friday struck down the appointment of chairperson and members to the Telangana State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (TSCPCR) by pointing out that the due procedure was not followed by the government while making selections. The court made it clear that persons with an experience of at least 10 years in the relevant field should alone be considered for the said posts.
Justice Challa Kodanda Ram allowed the petitions filed separately by P Achyutha Rao, MNV Srinivasa Rao, N Nageswara Rao and D Ramu challenging the GOs issued by the state government appointing G Ravi Kumar as chairperson and A Shoba Rani, M Jayasree, B Ramaleela, P Anjan Rao, P Revathi Devi and J Srinivasa Rao as members of the commission. On an earlier occasion, the court had granted an interim stay on the appointments.
Justice Kodanda Ram, in his order, said that the above appointments shall be made on the recommendations of a three-member committee constituted by the state government under the chairmanship of the minister in-charge of child development.
However, the said appointments were made based on the recommendations of a selection committee consisting of only two members and without the meeting being chaired by the chairman. The appointments were made contrary to Section 18 of the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 read with Rules 3 and 4 of the Telangana State Commission for Protection of Child Rights Rules, 2014, the judge said.