HC for filling of child rights panel posts

Lucknow: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has directed the state govt to take urgent steps to fill the long-vacant posts of chairman and members of the UP State Commission for Protection of Child Rights. The court said the appointment process should be completed, preferably within four months.A vacation bench, comprising Justice Shekhar B Saraf and Justice AK Chaudhary, passed the order while disposing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Human Unity Movement. The bench said, “We direct the state govt to look into this aspect on a war-footing and appoint members and chairman expeditiously, preferably within a period of four months from date.”Earlier, the petitioner stated that since Nov 2024, the commission had been functioning without a chairman or members. As all positions in the commission remain vacant, it has become completely non-functional, adversely affecting the protection of children’s rights and the redressal of complaints related to child welfare, the petitioner added. It was further contended that the commission’s inactivity has hampered the hearing, monitoring and resolution of matters concerning child rights, making immediate appointments necessary.After hearing the parties, the bench observed that it was inappropriate for a statutory body established to safeguard children’s rights to remain non-functional for such a long period.