Child welfare panel under scrutiny

HC Dharwad Bench orders status quo on committee member selections after petition raised concerns over process

The High Court Dharwad Bench has ordered the Women and Child Welfare Department to maintain the status quo on the selection of members for the District Child Welfare Committee. The order follows a petition filed by one of the applicants, raising concerns about the State Level Selection Committee’s process for interviewing and selecting candidates for the posts of chairman and members of the district child welfare committees.

“The selection, if any, made by respondent No 2 (The President, Directorate of Child Protection and Member Secretary of State Level Selection Committee) would be subject to the outcome of this petition. Status quo shall be maintained as of today at 5.19 pm,’’ read the High Court order issued on November 13.

HC Raghavendra, a child rights activist trainer from Ramasagara of Kampli taluk in Bellary district filed a writ appeal in the High Court Dharwad Bench seeking a direction to the President, Directorate of Child Protection and Member Secretary of State Level Selection Committee to consider his candidature for the post of a member to the district child welfare committee.

According to documents available with Bangalore Mirror, the High Court has directed the president, Directorate of Child Protection and Member Secretary of State Level Selection Committee on February 17 and June 21, 2024, to consider the application of HC Raghavendra for the interview but the authorities did not inform the petitioner to attend the interview.

It may be recalled that HC Raghavendra was felicitated with a State award for the year 2018 in recognition of his service to the welfare of children and preventing child marriages. However, the State Level Selection Committee did not inform Raghavendra about the date of the interview or the reason why his application was rejected.

Bangalore Mirror published a story titled, “Positions filled after 6 years, activists seek full selection” on September 12, highlighting how chairpersons and members of Child Welfare Committees and Juvenile Justice Board for the districts of Bengaluru Urban, Bidar, Davangere, Raichur, Tumkur, and Yadgir were yet to be selected.

Coming down heavily on the apathy of Women and Child Development authorities in selecting the wrong persons to the State Level Selection Committees, Y Mariswamy, former in-charge chairperson of Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has demanded the state government to cancel the State Level Selection Committee and issue a notification inviting applications for the formation of new State Level Selection Committee.

I urge state govt to cancel all selection of candidates for posts of members of district child welfare committee and take measures to select right candidate–Y Mariswamy, Child Rights

“I think that the State Level Selection Committee has failed to identify the right candidates for the posts of chairman and members of district child welfare committees. The State Level Selection Committee has also failed to conduct interviews for the selection of chairman and members for child welfare committees of many districts,’’ said Mariswamy.

Expressing concern over the selection of wrong candidates as members and chairman of district child welfare committees, Mariswamy said, “I urge the state government to cancel all the selection of candidates for the posts of chairman and members of district child welfare committee and take measures to select the right candidates to serve the children.’’