A Division Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday stayed the operation of an order passed by a single judge who had on July 13 quashed a Government Order dissolving Tamil Nadu Commission for Protection of Child Rights (TNCPCR) since the government had decided to appoint a new chairperson and members.
The first Bench of Acting Chief Justice M. Duraiswamy and Sunder Mohan granted the interim stay following an urgent writ appeal preferred by the government with a delay of 30 days. The judges condoned the delay, admitted the appeal, granted the interim stay and adjourned the matter to be heard on October 10.
The Bench prima facie concurred with the submissions of Additional Advocate General J. Ravindran that the single judge had mistaken that the council had been dissolved by invoking Section 7 of the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act of 2005 though the government had actually invoked Section 16 of the General Clauses Act of 1897.
The AAG told the court that a G.O. had originally been issued on January 18, 2021 appointing a chairperson and six members to the TNCPCR. They were appointed for a tenure of three years which would come to an end in January 2024. However, in February this year, the government decided to dissolve the entire commission.
The decision was taken in order to reconstitute the commission with “vibrant, dynamic and enthusiastic” people. Accordingly, a Government Order was issued on February 23 this year cancelling the January 18, 2021 order. Some of the members challenged the February G.O. and got it quashed in July this year.
Assailing the single judge’s order, the AAG said, it was not a case of disqualifying an individual member but a case of dissolving the entire Commission and reconstituting it afresh. He said that the members of the dissolved commission could also reapply as and when the government issues a notification for reconstitution.
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