Odisha HC notice to SCW secretary on vacancies of members

CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Thursday sought a reply from the secretary of State Commission of Women (SCW) by way of an affidavit for filling up all six posts of members.The court issued the directive while hearing a PIL filed by lawyer and human rights activist Prabir Kumar Das. The bench of Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice Gourishankar Satapathy directed the secretary of SCW to file the affidavit by May 1, hoping by then steps would have been initiated for filling up the vacancies.

“The fact that over 5,000 cases are pending with the SCW itself be sufficient reason for urgency to be shown in the matter,” the bench observed, while fixing May 8 as next date for further consideration of the issue. Appearing in person, Das pointed out to the court the SCW is presently functioning with just a chairman while all the six posts of members are lying vacant for the last three months. There is an urgent need for filling up the vacant posts as the cases pending before the SCW had gone up to 5,612 by February 28, 2023, he contended.

In his petition, Das said SCW renders public service by enabling the poor and marginalised women to approach it without any court fee or without appointing any advocate for vindication/enforcement of their rights. The commission has the onerous task of providing not only expeditious relief to women but also reducing burden of the courts/judiciary, the petitioner said.