Kalyani's appointment as child rights commission head under Madras HC scanner

Chennai: The Madras high court has decided to scrutinise the appointment of Kalyani Mathivanan, a former Vice- Chancellor of Madurai Kamaraj University, as chairperson of Tamil Nadu Commission for Protection of Child Rights.

The First Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice R. Mahadevan, before whom a petition filed by Change India A. Narayanan came up for hearing, said the appointment made vide a G.O. of September 1, prima facie, appears to be in breach of the affidavit furnished to the court.

In the writ petition, Narayanan sought to close down the illegal homes and for mandatory registration of Child Care homes which were not having adequate facilities. The government informed the court that the Chairperson of Tamil Nadu Commission for Protection of Child Rights remained vacant.

When the matter came up for hearing on Friday, the government said Kalyani Mathivanan has been appointed chairperson of the Commission based on the recommendation of the three-member selection committee.

The petitioner pointed out that the government had not followed the procedure prescribed for appointment of chairperson as per sections 17(2)(a) and 18 of the Commissions for protection of Child Rights Act. No press release was published and no applications from candidates were invited. The Bench said the appointment had been made in complete breach of the affidavit filed before the court.