Assam Commission for protection of child rights lacks quorum

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Assam State Commission of Protection of Child Rights (ASCPCR) lacks the appropriate quorum, and as such, the Commission is fraught with not operating at its full force and vigour.

The Commission, which had six members barring the chairperson, has only two members now. Former ASCPCR chairperson Sunita Changkakati retired on May 1, 2023, and four other members of the Commission also retired. The commission now has an in-charge chairman who is working with only two members. The ASCPCR falling short of quorum has come to light from the submission of petitioner advocate P.P. Sarma during the hearing of a PIL (60/2019) with the linked case suo moto PIL (1/2018) by the division bench of the Gauhati High Court comprising Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Arun Dev Chowdhury.

The counsel for the petitioner has highlighted that the ASCPCR requires the appointment of a chairperson and four members. He submitted that, as per instructions received by him, the Chairperson of the ASCPCR has superannuated in the month of May 2023 and that, out of six members, four member positions are vacant. Accordingly, he submitted that due to the lack of an appropriate quorum, there is every likelihood that the Commission is not operating with full force and vigour.

He also submitted that the ASCPCR is required to conduct a social audit relating to appropriate monitoring and the implementation of the various laws related to the protection of children. He submits that according to information received by him, the State Commission has not conducted a social audit for several years, and even if one has been conducted, it has not been posted on the website or made available in the public domain. Consequently, he said that he has been unable to determine whether deficiencies in the implementation of child protection laws have been addressed as of now.

At this juncture, the learned senior government advocate submitted that the implementation window is not controlled by a single authority, and therefore, he sought leave to file an additional affidavit by the respective authorities who are to implement the various points that have been raised in this note. The bench allowed the senior government advocate’s prayer and asked him to make a summary of the content of the affidavit. The court listed the PILs for their next hearing on September 19, 2023.

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