Chairperson of National Commission for Women Rekha Sharma (L). File.
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar

The National Commission for Women (NCW) has said that it has no information on whether its Chairperson and Members are members of any political party.

Replying to a query under the Right to Information Act, 2005, whether the Chairperson or Member can be a member of a political party and, if so, how many had such political affiliations, the Public Information Officer (PIO) replied that the NCW was a statutory body set up by the NCW Act, 1990, under the aegis of the Ministry of Women and Child Development. The Chairperson and Members of the Commission are nominated by the Government of India.

To specific questions, which also included one on whether the Chairperson and Members could participate in political meetings, and if they should not then what legal and other action could be taken against them, the PIO replied, “From the records in this office, no such information is available.”

When contacted, petitioner Raj Kapil, an Assistant Professor in Criminology, said in the last one year he had been witnessing one of the NCW Members attending political party events and campaigns of the Bharatiya Janata Party. At the time of nomination to the NCW, she was serving as a member of the BJP’s national executive committee.

“I do not know whether other members are also also members of political parties. Being a quasi-judicial commission with powers of a civil court, the NCW is tasked to investigate and examine all matters relating to the safeguards for women under the Constitution and other laws. The Chairperson/Members also look into complaints and take suo moto notice of matters relating to deprivation of women’s rights,” he said.

Moreover, the NCW also had the responsibility to evaluate the progress of the development of women under the Union and State governments. “With this being the mandate, the Chairperson or Member should not be a member of any political party, at least for the term of office to uphold the principle of neutrality and serving without any fear or favour,” he said.

Mr. Kapil said the NCW’s reply stating that “no information is available” would only lead to larger questions on transparency and accountability directly, casting aspersions on the decisions of the Chairperson or Members and whether they were serving without any political bias.

He said if there was no rule barring the NCW Chairperson or Members being affiliated to political parties at the time of appointment, then there was an urgent need to change the norms in the larger interest of neutrality and justice. Mr. Kapil added that he would appeal against the reply of the PIO since it was “incomplete and improper”.