APPOINTMENTS CONTROVERCIES

CONTROVERSIES :

1.       Haryana state info. Comm.. appointment on last day of outgoing governor(obviously congress loyalist ). 5of 8 cleared by gov despite refusal of adm reform seceratry (all are fav of incumbent govt.)

2.     Central govt tried to appoint political nominee (4 ) t0 NCPCR , challenged by  ngos:Asso. For dev , HAQ

SC rap to govt :

Why only candidates recomm. By MPs etc

Stayed appointment

Frame norms n guidelines

Make it fair reasonable, transparent

Then comeback

are there some guideline ? : yes

From court:

1.       In 2010, in Association for Development v. Union of India , a writ petition challenging the appointments of two members of the NCPCR, the Delhi High Court provided certain guidelines for future appointments. It recommended a broad-based Selection Committee which could include independent experts in the field, the Chairperson of the UPSC and/or the Leader of the Opposition.

Few acts also provide certain directions:

Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 (CPCR Act) which requires that the Chairperson be a person of eminence who has done outstanding work for promoting the welfare of children.

stipulated 30 days period for inviting objections to candidates short-listed for the positions of Member was not followed in the case of this appointment.

Unlike the Chairperson and Members of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), who must be appointed based on the recommendations of a high-powered Selection Committee comprising the Prime Minister, Lok Sabha Speaker, Minister in-charge of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, and Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, the composition of the NCPCR is entirely at the whims and fancy of the government.

International standards:

The Principles relating to the status of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, 1993, (Paris Principles), a set of internationally accepted minimum standards that states should aim to comply with while establishing a NHRI emphasise that a

1.NHRI should be functionally and financially independent and

2.should not be controlled by the government.

3.The institution should have a broad mandate and

 4.its composition should be pluralistic and reflect the various entities involved in the protection and promotion of human rights.

5.Other international standards emphatically state that the executive should not solely determine the composition of the Commission.

6.Based on these standards, the norm that emerges is that the composition of a NHRI should inspire confidence and credibility.

7.In order that it is not regarded as a mere extension of a government department, qualified and deserving persons should be selected in a transparent manner.

Few more examples:

For instance, Mamta Sharma, the current Chairperson of the NCW, has been an elected member of a State Assembly and has even held the position of General Secretary of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee. Previous Chairpersons such as Dr. Girija Vyas and Jayanti Patnaik had active political careers and were members of the national party that was at the Centre. Dr. Vyas was in fact a sitting Member of Parliament when she held the position of Chairperson.

In 2010, out of 130 applications received by the NCPCR, 3 applications were forwarded from the Prime Minister’s Office and 35 others from Union ministers. 18 recommendations were from political party functionaries (17 of which were from Congress leaders) and 33 from MPs and MLAs. Similarly, 7 recommendations were made by chief ministers and state cabinet ministers and 10 others from the NCPCR itself.