Expressing disappointment at the government’s delay, the Telangana High Court on Monday directed the state Advocate General BS Prasad to inform them about the time required to appoint the Chairperson for the Women’s Commission within a week.
The bench comprising Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy, was hearing a PIL filed by Regulapati Ramya Rao, a resident of Karimnagar district.
Ramya, in her petition, said that since completion of the term of Tripurana Venkataratnam in July 2018, the government did not appoint a Chairperson. She said that 45 complaints were pending before the Commission but the government failed to fill the vacant post, according to The Hindu.
She said that atrocities on women were on the rise and the perpetrators were going scot-free, as the Commission remained defunct without the Chairperson.
The petitioner said that the government did not act even after the National Women’s Commission Chairperson Rekha Sharma held a discussion with the Chief Secretary urging him to fill the vacant post immediately.
Responding to the petition, the bench observed that statutory bodies like Women’s Commission cannot function without a head. They said that it was a “matter of serious concern,” according to The New Indian Express.
The bench said that several statutory bodies remained headless and the Real Estate Regulatory Authority was not even formed.
State Advocate General BS Prasad, in his response, sought four weeks’ time to inform the court about the government’s efforts to appoint the Chairperson for the Women’s Commission. However, the court declined the request and gave him just one week's time, The Times of India reported.
Several women activists have on numerous occasions questioned the government about its laxity in appointing the Chairperson for the past two years.