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Journalism of Courage
At a time when the Government is set to bifurcate the All India Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Commission SC/ST commission into two separate and more empowered commissions, infighting has brought the working of the constitutional body almost to a halt.
The Commission, which is entrusted with judicial powers and hears cases of injustice on country8217;s nearly one-third population is victim of a protracted fight between its youngest member Vijay Kumar Chowdhary and Chairman, Bijoy Sonkar Sastri.
Chowdhary has now gone to court with his grievance that 8216;8216;the chairman is interfering8217;8217; with his work. His petition has already been admitted by the Delhi High Court and notice has been issued to Sastri.
While Chowdhary and Sastri8217;s strained relations have created a sort of impasse in the Commission, sources say the fight is likely to throw up a lot of muck about the recent goings-on there. For past six months, no meeting of the Commission has been held which is against the rulebook that says a meeting once in two months is a must.
The tension came out in the open in June when Sastri issued an order withdrawing Chowdhary8217;s work and powers like tours etc.. 8216;8216;I had to issue the orders when I received complaints against Chowdhary from governments of Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand about his inappropriate conduct,8217;8217; Sastri told The Indian Express.
Chowdhary, a former journalist, however says he was feeling 8216;8216;persecuted and victimised and so went to court8217;8217;. 8216;8216;If a person who8217;s job is to render justice feels so one can imagine the state of affairs inside the Commission,8217;8217; he said.
