Appointment of chairperson for child rights panel stayed

Hyderabad: The High Court at Hyderabad has stayed the process of appointment of Chairperson to Telangana State Commission for Protection of Child Rights for a week and directed the State government to submit complete details regarding the efforts to appoint Gudimalla Ravi Kumar as its Chairperson.

Justice Challa Kodandaram gave these interim directions on Tuesday while hearing a writ petition filed by M Achyuta Rao, complaining that the proposed appointment of Gudimalla Ravi Kumar as Chairperson is illegal and contrary to the norms prescribed for such an appointment.

The counsel for the petitioner M Damodar Reddy informed the court that a G.O., issued by Women and Child Welfare Department in 2015, stipulated that a person with a minimum of 10 years’ experience in the field of child rights protection activity should be appointed as Chairperson for the Commission. This criterion is not met by the Chairperson proposed to be appointed, he contended. The judge directed the government to submit a detailed counter affidavit on this issue and adjourned the case by a week.

The High Court at Hyderabad directed the Andhra Pradesh state government to file a detailed counter affidavit in the Public Interest Litigation case filed seeking cancellation of G.O.s issued by it on various dates withdrawing several criminal cases against TDP ministers and MLAs and other leaders. It took on record the undertaking given by the AP Advocate General stating that the Public Prosecutors will seek adjournments in lower courts when these cases come up for hearing till the matter is decided by the High Court.