Rajasthan High Court has sought clarification on IAS officer’s appointment as Child Rights Panel Chief.
The Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Chief Secretary, the Secretary of the Women and Child Development Department, and senior IAS officer Kuldeep Ranka, questioning the decision to assign him additional charge as Chairperson of the Rajasthan State Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
Justice Sudesh Bansal, presiding over a single-judge bench, passed the order during a preliminary hearing on a petition filed by commission member Sangita Garg. The court order, made public on Thursday, calls upon the state government to clarify the legal basis for appointing a serving IAS officer to a statutory post intended to function independently.
Representing the petitioner, advocate Satya Pal Chandolia contended that the post became vacant after the resignation of former chairperson Sangeeta Beniwal. He argued that assigning additional charge to a bureaucrat could potentially undermine the autonomy and statutory integrity of the commission.
The court has asked the concerned parties to submit detailed responses and scheduled the matter for further hearing.
