Four new members have been appointed to the the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
Mohankumar B. from Kasaragod, Cicily Joseph from Kannur, K.K. Shaju from Ernakulam, and Wilson F. from Thiruvananthapuram have taken charge as new members. Their tenure will be for a period of three years.
The fourth commission has K.V. Manoj Kumar as Chairperson and N. Sunanda and Jalajamol T.C. as members. With the new appointments, the four vacancies in the six-member commission have been filled.
The members’ posts have been vacant for nearly seven months. The tenure of Babitha B., Reni Antony, Syamaladevi P.P., and C. Vijayakumar in the third commission ended in August last. However, the appointment of the new members had dragged on.
In 2018, the Supreme Court had taken note of States’ non-compliance with Section 18 of the Commission for the Protection of Child Rights Act that provides for appointment of a Chairperson and other members of the State commissions for protection of child rights.
However, Kerala continued to delay the appointments. In 2022 too, there was a four-month delay. A long gap in appointment of new members severely affects the functioning of the commission and protection of child rights, a former commission member said.
