The Central government’s response to a public interest litigation (PIL) petition asking for directions to fill the vacancies in the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes was requested by the Supreme Court Bench of Justices S Abdul Nazeer and JK Maheshwari on Friday in the case of HM Singh vs. Union of India and others.
In the PIL submitted by attorney HM Singh, the court gave notice. The vice-chairperson and two member positions have remained vacant for more than a year, according to the appeal submitted through attorney Ranbir Singh Yadav, rendering the commission inoperable due to a lack of quorum.
It was said that the commission fails to help the general public and scheduled tribes in particular, and that there is no body to advise the Central government on how to uplift tribal people.
Since the vacancies first appeared in February 2021, their complaints have gone unnoticed; also, annual reports have not been submitted since 2018, according to the petition.
“Every day [of the vacancy] would add to the agony of the Scheduled Tribes who are denied direct participation in the main stream”, the plea states, even as the government has not put in “any efforts to full-fill its duty cast by the constitution and [is] sleeping over the matter of appointment,”
the Petition Stated
The argument further emphasised that the commission’s head office is located in Delhi, where a secretary and other employees have been hired to help with operations. It was argued that these positions were now obsolete and a waste of tax dollars.
