Mumbai: Maharashtra Cabinet on Wednesday
approved the proposal to grant judicial powers to the state
minorities commission to strengthen its functioning.
Minorities Affairs Minister Mohammed Arif Naseem Khan
said the judicial powers will enable the commission to summon
officers against whom complaints have been filed and call for
official papers for documentary evidence.
"This will help the commission to carry out their work
independently and expeditiously. Earlier, summons from the
commission were not binding on the bureaucrats. Now, it
will be mandatory," he said.
Judicial powers have been granted to the state human
rights commission, state finance commission and state child
rights commission, the minister said, adding the minorities
commission did not have such powers until now.
States like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh have the similar
provisions for granting judicial powers to minorities
commission under their jurisdiction, he said.
The move will help strengthen the functioning of the
commission and expeditiously solve problems of the minorities,
added Khan.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, December 28, 2011, 21:21