Continued unhygienic state of washrooms violation of fundamental rights of court users, SC told
New Delhi (PTI): The continued unhygienic state of washrooms in court complexes across the country constitutes a persistent violation of the fundamental rights and the right to dignity of all users, including judges, advocates, litigants and staff, according to a status report filed on behalf of different high courts before the Supreme Court.
The apex court was informed that the poor condition of washrooms, even in the high courts in metropolitan cities, is not an isolated incident but shows a systemic and administrative failure in allocating funds, enforcing maintenance contracts and ensuring accountability.
"The existing infrastructure fails to meet the standards of a modern and inclusive public utility; it directly implicates the failure to ensure public health and sanitation.
"The absence of facilities for Persons with Disabilities (PwD) in major high courts and district courts constitutes a violation of their right to equality and non-discrimination, mandated by the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act; this lack includes non-compliant construction, absence of ramps, support bars, and appropriate turning for wheelchairs," the status report said.
The top court was told that the failure of most courts to provide separate and gender neutral/inclusive washrooms for the third gender disregards the fundamental rights and dignity.
"The lack of functional crèche/childcare facilities (even where established) negatively impacts the right to practice a profession for female advocates and staff who are mothers, creating a barrier to gender equality in the legal profession.
"The situation is most critical in the subordinate judiciary, reflecting a profound infrastructure inequity. There is a need for micro-level development.
What is required is decentralised implementation, focusing on local needs assessment, specific budget allocation, and community-level oversight to ensure functional water supply, plumbing, and daily cleaning contracts for every single court complex," the status report said.
The apex court was informed that the poor state of these facilities affects the working conditions of judicial officers and staff in courts, especially located in rural areas, potentially impacting their health and efficiency, and diminishing the dignity of the institution of justice itself.
The submissions were made in a PIL filed by lawyer Rajeeb Kalita.
The apex court had on January 15 passed a slew of directions, saying the availability of public toilets is an important duty of the state governments and Union territories and steps need to be taken to ensure that such facilities are accessible to all.
Issuing a slew of directions, the apex court asked all the high courts, state governments and UTs to ensure the availability of separate toilet facilities for males, females, persons with disabilities, and transgender persons in all court premises and tribunals across the country.
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Ex-bureaucrat Raj Kumar Goyal sworn in as CIC; eight new information commissioners take oath
New Delhi (PTI): After a gap of nine years, transparency watchdog Central Information Commission attained its full strength with the appointment of former IAS officer Raj Kumar Goyal and eight other information commissioners, who took the oath of office on Monday.
A three-member panel headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week recommended their names for the appointment.
President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Goyal as the chief information commissioner (CIC) at a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, her office said in a communique.
The event was attended by Vice President C P Radhakrishnan and Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh, among others.
Goyal is a 1990-batch (retired) IAS officer of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram-Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre. He superannuated as secretary, Department of Justice under the Ministry of Law and Justice, on August 31.
He has also served as secretary (border management) in the Home Ministry and held key posts both at the Centre and in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The post of CIC fell vacant after Heeralal Samariya completed his term on September 13.
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The Commission is headed by a CIC and can have a maximum of 10 information commissioners. With the new appointments, the Commission attained its full strength after a gap of over nine years, according to transparency activists.
In the presence of two incumbent Information Commissioners, Anandi Ramalingam and Vinod Kumar Tiwari, Goyal administered the oath of office to eight new appointees at the swearing-in ceremony.
They included former Railway Board chief Jaya Verma Sinha, former IPS officer Swagat Das -- who held key posts in the Intelligence Bureau, Home Ministry and Cabinet Secretariat, among others -- Central Secretariat Service (CSS) officer Sanjeev Kumar Jindal, former IAS officer Surendra Singh Meena and ex-Indian Forest Service officer Khushwant Singh Sethi.
Senior journalists P R Ramesh and Ashutosh Chaturvedi, and former Indian Legal Service officer Sudha Rani Relangi, have also been sworn in as information commissioners.
Relangi has also worked as the director of prosecution, Central Bureau of Investigation and joint secretary and legislative counsel in the Ministry of Law and Justice.
The names of the CIC and eight information commissioners were cleared during the meeting of the Modi-led committee comprising Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.
