While the allegations of rape and sexual exploitation of minor girls against Murugha Mutt seer Shivamurthy continue to shock society’s conscience, the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, which is charged with protecting children, is without a full-time chairperson for over 10 months now, leading to a pile-up of cases. With the term of the six members, too, having ended in July, the Commission, a quasi-judicial body, is unable to pass any order. It is the duty of the Commission to ensure that the rights of all children in the state are protected. It is required to conduct inquiries in all cases of child rights violations and pass appropriate orders, examine factors that prevent enforcement of child rights and conduct research in the field of child rights. There is at present a backlog of over 500 cases under Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and relating to child marriage, child labour, denial of school admission under Right to Education (RTE) and several other serious offences. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), which went out of its way to complain to the Election Commission against the Bharat Jodo Yatra, after a photograph of a boy holding a Congress flag walking next to Rahul Gandhi emerged on social media, did nothing more than to send a cursory letter to the local police seeking a report in the Murugha Mutt case. This only shows how such Commissions work as appendages of the party in power to settle scores with or harass political rivals, rather than discharge the duties they are charged with.
The undue delay in appointing a chairman for the state Commission shows the cavalier manner in which the Karnataka government deals with the issue of child rights. According to the Women and Child Welfare Department, of the applications received for the post of chairman, five names were shortlisted and sent to the Chief Minister, who is yet to take a decision. About 80 applications have been received for the vacancies of six members.
The Commission is an important institution whose remit involves the rights and protection of children. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai should appoint its chairperson immediately, without succumbing to any pressure. The fact that none of the victims of the Murugha Mutt seer approached the Commission and instead went to an NGO shows how little credibility it enjoys currently. The appointment of a non-political chairperson who is genuinely concerned about child rights would be the first step towards restoring its credibility.