Activists lament delay in naming CWC chairperson

Narayana A, Director of Change India, who had filed a representation regarding this issue to the Chairperson of the Juvenile Justice Committee of Madras High Court on July, said there have been vacancies since 2015. “The CWC Chennai is headless and there are only two members. This is the unfortunate situation in several districts. Selection has been done and names of  shortlisted candidates have been sent to the Department of Social Defence in Chennai many months ago, but the government is yet to come out with an order, announcing the names of new chairpersons for CWC and JJB,” said the activist. 

Dr P Manorama, former Chairperson for CWC, said there is a need for two committees to dispose the sheer number of cases in Chennai alone. “When I was the Chairperson, we worked all days of the week. We conducted a study and found that we were getting 5070 cases per month for children in need of protection. If the CWC is not functioning full-time, it is difficult to deal  cases,” she said. “The CWC has five members and in case of a difference in opinion between four members, final decision rests with the Chairperson. Regarding the current set, the term of the members has been extended by a few months,” Dr Manorama pointed. 

Andrew Sesuraj, State Convenor for Tamil Nadu Child Rights Observatory (TNCRO), said CWC and JJB are basic district level systems to protect rights of children. “Terms of both committees have been extended by more than a year. The government must pass an order to inform the committee, if they should continue or not. Secondly, the TN Juvenile Justice Draft Rules 2016 has not been notified. As per the modified rules, the same member cannot be appointed again,” he concluded.