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GOVERNMENT OF PUDUCHERRY

CHIEF SECRETARIAT (EDUCATION)

(G. O. Ms. No. 51, dated 21st May 2012)

NOTIFICATION

In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (p) of sub-section (2)

of section 38 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education

Act, 2009 read with sub-rule(1) of rule 22 of the Puducherry Right of

Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2011, the

Lieutenant-Governor, Puducherry is pleased to make the following rules,

namely:—

1. Short title and commencement.— (1) These rules may be called,

‘the Puducherry Right to Education Protection Authority Rules, 2012’.

(2) They shall come into force on and from the date of their

publication in the official gazette.

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of Newspapers for India under

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No. 25 Poudouchéry

Mardi

22

Mai

2012

No.

Puducherry

Tuesday

22nd

May

2012

(1 Jyaistha 1934)

LA GAZETTE DE L'ETAT

172

2. Definitions.— in these rules, unless the context otherwise

requires,—

(a) “Act” means the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory

Education Act, 2009 (Central Act No. 35 of 2009);

(b) “Authority” means the Puducherry Right to Education

Protection Authority constituted under sub-section (3) of

section 31 of the Act;

(c) “Chairperson” means the Chairperson of the Authority;

(d) “Government” means the Administrator of the Union

territory of Puducherry appointed under Article 239 of the

Constitution of India;

(e) “Member” means the Member of the Authority;

(f) “Secretary” means the Secretary to the Authority.

3. Composition of the Authority.— The Authority shall consist of

the following, namely:—

(a) a Chairperson who is a person of high academic repute or

has been a High Court Judge or has done outstanding work for

promoting the rights of children; and

(b) two members, of whom at least one shall be a woman, from

the following areas, from amongst persons of eminence, ability,

integrity, standing and experience in,—

(i) Education;

(ii) Child health care and child development;

(iii) Juvenile justice or care of neglected or marginalized

children or children with disabilities;

(iv) Elimination of child labour or working with children in

distress;

(v) Child psychology or sociology; or

(vi) Legal profession.

4. Constitution of the Authority.— (1) The Government shall, by

notification, appoint the Chairperson and other Members:

Provided that the Chairperson shall be appointed on the

recommendation of a three member selection committee constituted by

the Government under the Chairmanship of the Minister in-charge of the

Department of School Education.

(2) The Office of the Authority shall be at Puducherry.

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5. Disqualification for appointment as Chairperson and

Members.— No person, having any past record of violation of human

rights and child rights corruption and criminal cases shall be eligible

for appointment as Chairperson or Members of the Authority.

6. Term of office of Chairperson and other Members.— (1) The

Chairperson shall unless removed from office under rule 7, hold office

for a period of two years, or till such time as the Government sets up

the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, whichever is earlier.

(2) Every Member shall, unless removed from office under rule 7,

hold office for a period of two years, or till such time as the Government

sets up the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, whichever

is earlier.

(3) If the Chairperson is unable to discharge his functions owing

to illness or other incapacity, the Government shall nominate any other

Member to act as Chairperson and the Member so nominated shall hold

office of Chairperson until the Chairman resumes office or till the

remainder of his term.

(4) The Chairperson or a Member may, by writing under his hand

addressed to the Government, resign his office at any time.

(5) A vacancy caused by death, resignation or any other reason

shall be filled-up by nomination within ninety days from the date of

occurrence of such vacancy.

7. Removal from office.— (1) Subject to the provisions of sub-rule (2),

the Chairperson may be removed from his office by an order of the

Government on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-rule (1), the

Government, may by order, remove from office, the Chairperson or any

other Member, if the Chairperson or, as the case may be, such other

Member,—

(a) is adjudged an insolvent; or

(b) engages during his term of office in any paid employment

outside the duties of his office; or

(c) refuses to act or becomes incapable of acting; or

(d) is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent

court; or

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174

(e) has so abused his office as to render his continuance in

office detrimental to public interest; or

(f) is convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for an offence

which in the opinion of the Government involves moral turpitude; or

(g) is without obtaining leave of absence from the Authority,

absent from three consecutive meetings of the Authority.

(3) No person shall be removed under this rule until that person

has been given an opportunity of being heard in the matter.

8. (1) Salaries and allowances.— The salaries and allowances

payable to, and other terms and conditions of services of the Chairperson

and Members shall be such as may be fixed by the Government from

time to time.

(2) Facility for conveyance.— The Chairperson and every other

member shall be entitled to the facilities of staff car for journeys for

official purpose in accordance with the Staff Car Rules of the

Government of India, as amended from time to time.

9. Appointment of Secretary, officers and employees to the

Authority.— (1) Till such time the State Commission for Protection of

Child Rights is constituted and comes into effect, the State Project

Director, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Puducherry shall act as the ex-officio

Secretary to the Authority and shall make available such other officers

and employees as may be necessary for the efficient performance of its

functions.

(2) The salary and allowances payable to and other terms and

conditions of service of other officers and employees appointed for the

purpose of the Authority shall be such as may be prescribed by the

Government.

10. Powers of the Secretary.— The Secretary shall, —

(i) have power to execute all decisions taken by the Authority

in order to carry out the powers and functions of the Authority;

(ii) exercise and discharge such powers and perform such

duties as are required for proper administration of the affairs of

the Authority and its day-to-day management;

(iii) convene the meetings of the Authority in consultation

with the Chairperson and serve notices of the meetings to all

concerned;

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(iv) take steps to ensure that the quorum required for

convening a meeting of the Authority is secured;

(v) prepare, in consultation with the Chairperson, the agenda

for each meeting of the Authority and have notes prepared by

the Secretariat and such notes shall, as far as possible, be

self-contained;

(vi) make available specific records covering the agenda

items to the Authority for reference;

(vii) ensure that the agenda papers are circulated to the

Members at least two clear workings days in advance of the

meeting, except in cases when urgent attention is required;

(viii) prepare minutes of the meetings of the Authority and

shall execute the decisions of the Authority taken in the meeting

and shall also ensure placing of the Action Taken Report on

the decisions of the Authority before the Authority in its

subsequent meetings;

(ix) ensure that the procedure of the Authority is followed

by it in transaction of its business;

(x) exercise such financial powers as are delegated to him by

the Chairperson on behalf of the Authority;

Provided that no expenditure on an item exceeding rupees fifty

thousand shall be incurred without the sanction of the Chairperson; and

(xi) be the appointing and disciplinary authority in respect

of the employees of the Authority.

11. Functions of the Authority.— (1) The Authority shall perform

the following functions, namely:—

(a) examine and review the safeguards for rights provided by

or under the Act and recommend measures for their effective

implementation;

(b) inquire into complaints relating to child's right to free and

compulsory education; and

(2) The Authority may take any one of the following steps upon

completion of an inquiry held under sub-rule (1)(b), namely:—

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176

(i) where the inquiry discloses the commission of violation

of child rights of a serious nature or contravention of any

provisions of the Act, it may recommend to the Government the

initiation of proceedings for prosecution or such other action

as the Authority may deem fit against the person or persons

concerned;

(ii) approach the High Court for such directions, orders or

writs as the court may deem necessary;

(iii) recommend to the Government for the grant of such

interim relief to the victim or the members of his family as the

Authority may consider necessary.

12. Powers of the Authority.— (1) The Authority shall, while

inquiring into any matters relating to child's right to free and compulsory

education under sub-rule (1)(b) of rule 20 have all the powers of a civil

court trying a suit under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 and in

particular, in respect of the following matters, namely:—

(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and

examining him on oath;

(b) discovery and production of any document;

(c) receiving evidence on affidavits;

(d) requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any

court or office; and

(e) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses or

documents.

(2) The Authority shall have the power to forward any case to a

Magistrate having jurisdiction to try the same and the Magistrate to

whom any such case is forwarded shall proceed to hear the complaint

against the accused as if the case has been forwarded to him under

section 346 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

13. Procedure for transaction of business.— (1) The authority

shall meet regularly at its office at Puducherry at such time as the

Chairperson thinks fit, but three months shall not intervene between its

last meeting and the next meeting.

(2) The Authority shall ordinarily hold its meetings in its office

located in Puducherry but may, in its discretion, hold its meetings at

outlying regions if it considers it necessary or expedient to do so.

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(3) The Authority may adjourn its meeting from day-to-day or to

any particular day.

(4) The agenda papers shall ordinarily be circulated to members

at least two clear working days in advance of the meeting except in cases

when urgent attention is required.

14. Quorum.— (1) Two members including the Chairperson shall

form the quorum.

(2) If there is no required quorum, the Chairperson shall adjourn

the meeting to such hours on the following or on some other future date

as he may fix.

(3) No quorum shall be necessary for the adjourned meeting;

(4) Matters which had not been on the agenda of the meeting,

shall not be discussed at adjourned meeting.

15. Decision by majority.— (1) All issues/questions considered at

a meeting of the Authority shall be decided by majority.

(2) If for any reason, the Chairperson is unable to attend the

meeting of the Authority, he may authorize one of the Members to

preside over the meeting.

(3) In a meeting convened under the chairmanship of one of the

Members of the Authority with the authorization of the Chairperson,

issues/questions shall be decided by consensus. If there is no

consensus between the Members, the issue shall be placed before the

full Authority in its next meeting for decision by majority.

(4) No proceeding of the Authority shall be invalid by reason of

existence of any vacancy in the Authority.

16. Minutes of the meeting.— (1) The minutes of each meeting of

the Authority shall be recorded during the meeting itself or immediately

thereafter by the Secretary or by any other official of the Authority as

directed by the Secretary.

(2) The minutes of meeting of the Authority shall be submitted

to the Chairperson for approval and, upon approval, be circulated to all

members of the Authority at the earliest and in any case, before the next

meeting.

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(3) The conclusion of the Authority in every matter undertaken

by it shall be recorded in the form of opinion and dissenting opinions,

if given, shall also form part of and be kept on record. Action shall be

taken on the basis of majority opinion where there is any difference of

opinion.

(4) All orders and decisions of the Authority shall be

authenticated by the Secretary or any other official of the Authority duly

authorized by the Secretary with the prior approval of the Chairperson.

(5) Unless specifically authorized, no action shall be taken by

the Secretary of the Commission on the minutes of the meetings until

the Chairperson confirms the same.

(6) A master copy of record of all meetings and opinions of the

Authority shall be maintained, duly authenticated by the Secretary.

17. Report of action taken.— Report of the follow-up action taken

in pursuance of any decision arrived in a meeting shall be submitted by

the Secretary to the Authority at every subsequent meeting indicating

therein the present stage of action taken on each item on which the

Authority had taken any decision in any of its earlier meetings, excepting

the items on which no further action is called for.

18. Panel of consultants.— (1) The Authority may constitute a

panel of consultants for assisting it in various tasks such as

investigation or inquiry and to serve on task forces or committees and

for research and analysis.

(2) The Authority may draw experts from academic, research,

administrative, investigative, legal or civil society groups to form the panel.

(3) The Authority may devise a transparent process for the

empanelling of these consultants so that they are available for quick

delegation of tasks.

(4) The details of remuneration/honorarium to be paid to such

consultants shall be decided by the Authority before entrusting any task

to such consultants.

(5) The consultants, with the prior approval of the Chairperson,

may undertake tours within the country for the performance of the duties

entrusted to them by the Authority and in respect of such tours they

shall be entitled to traveling and daily allowance at the rates admissible

to an entry level Group-A officer.

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(6) The consultants engaged by the Authority shall not disclose

any information either given by the Authority or obtained during the

performance of the duties assigned to them to any person other than

the Authority without the written permission of the Chairperson of the

committee.

19. Annual report.— (1) The Authority shall as soon as possible

after the end of the financial year but not later than 30th April in the

next year ensuing prepare and submit to the Government an annual report

giving a complete account of its activities during the said financial year.

(2) In particular, the annual report referred to in sub-rule (1) shall

contain information in respect of each of the following matters, namely:—

(a) The organisational set up of the Authority;

(b) The functions which the Authority has been empowered to

perform under section 31 of the Act and the highlights of the

performance in this regard;

(c) The main recommendations made by the Authority;

(d) Progress made in the implementation of the Act; and

(e) Any other matter deemed appropriate for inclusion by the

Authority or specified by the Government from time to time.

(3) The Authority may also prepare special reports on specific

issues as and when necessary under the direction of the Chairperson.

(4) In case the Authority considers that there could be a time lag

for the preparation of the annual report, it may prepare and submit an

interim report to the Government.

(5) The Government shall cause the annual report to be laid before

the Legislature of the Union Territory along with a report on action taken

or proposed to be taken on the recommendations of the Authority and

the reasons for non-acceptance of the recommendations, if any.

20. Financial powers.— (1) The Authority shall spend the sums

of money received by it for the purpose of performance of the functions

assigned to it under the Act.

(2) The Chairperson shall have full powers relating to transaction

of the Authority.

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180

(3) The Chairperson shall obtain prior approval of the

Government in matters of creation of posts, revision of pay scales, hiring

of vehicles, re-appropriation of funds, participation in seminars,

conferences and other training programmes abroad and such other

matters as may be determined by the Government from time to time.

(4) The Chairperson may, subject to such conditions and

limitations and control and supervision, delegate his financial powers

to any Member or the Secretary.

(5) All financial powers of the Authority shall be governed by

the General Financial Rules, 2005, the Delegation of Financial Powers

Rules, 1972 and instructions on economy and austerity issued by the

Government from time to time.

21. Winding up of the Authority.— Immediately after constitution

of the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights by the

Government, the Authority shall cease to function and all records and

assets of the Authority shall be transferred to the State Commission for

Protection of Child Rights and thereafter the State Commission for

Protection of Child Rights shall perform the functions of the Authority

in addition to the functions assigned to it under the Protection of Child

Rights Act, 2005.

22. Interpretation and clarification.— If any doubt arises in

the interpretation or implementation of these rules it shall be referred

to the Government whose decision thereon shall be final.

(By order of the Lieutenant-Governor)

M. GUNASEKARAN,

Under Secretary to Government (Education).

————

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