ANDHRA PRADESH
WOMEN'S COMMISSION ACT, 1998 THE ANDHRA PRADESH WOMEN'S COMMISSION ACT, 1998 [Act No. 9 of 1998] [19th March, 1998] An Act to provide for the Constitution of a Women's Commission to
improve the status of women in the State of Andhra Pradesh and to inquire into
unfair practices affecting women and for matters connected therewith or
incidental thereto. Whereas it is expedient to
provide for the constitution of a commission to improve the status of women in
the State of Andhra Pradesh and to inquire into unfair practices affecting
women and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto; Be it enacted by the
Legislative Assembly of the State of Andhra Pradesh in the Forty-ninth year of
the Republic of India as follows: (1)
This Act may be called the Andhra Pradesh Women's Commission Act,
1998. (2)
It extends to the whole of the State of Andhra Pradesh. (3)
It shall come into force on such date as the Government, may by
notification, appoint. In this Act, unless the
context otherwise requires: - (a)
"Commission" means the Commission constituted under
Section 5; (b)
"Director" means the Director appointed under Section
12; (c)
"Government" means the Government of Andhra Pradesh' (d)
"Member" means a Member of the Commission and includes
the Chairperson; (e)
"Notification" means the notification published in the
Andhra Pradesh Gazette and the word "notified" shall be construed
accordingly; (f)
"Prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this
Act; (g)
"Public Servant" means any employee of the Government or
a local body or any corporation owned or controlled by the Government or of any
Government agency or any public undertaking; (h)
"Unfair practice" means any distinction, exclusion or
restriction made on the basis of sex for the purpose of or which has the effect
of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women of
fundamental, constitutional rights, or of human rights, or of fundamental
freedom in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field
or the infringement of any right or benefit conferred on women by or under the
provisions of any law for the time being in force or the mental or physical
torture or sexual excesses on women; (i)
"Woman" includes adolescent girl or female child. Act not to apply in certain
cases.-This Act shall not apply to .-- (i)
the Central Government; or (ii)
any public sector undertaking of the Central Government, or any
other institution owned, or controlled or financed directly by the Central
Government. Save as otherwise provided,
the provisions of this Act shall be in addition to and not in derogation of,
any other law for the time being in force, except to the extent the provisions
of the other law are in consistent with the provisions of this Act. (1)
For the purpose of this Act, the Government shall, by
notification, constitute a commission to be known as the Andhra Pradesh Women's
Commission which shall consist of a Chairperson and not more than six other
women members residing in the State to be nominated by the Government of whom
one shall belong to the Scheduled Castes and one from the Scheduled Tribes and
one from the Backward Classes and one from the Minorities Communities. (2)
The Chairperson shall be an eminent women committed to the cause
of welfare of women with sufficient knowledge and experience in dealing with
women's problems. (3)
The members of the Commission shall be women of ability, integrity
and standing who have served the cause of women or have had sufficient
knowledge and experience in law or legislation, administration of matters
concerning the advancement of women or leadership of any trade union or
voluntary organisation for women for protection, up liftmen and promotion of
common interests of women. (1)
Every member shall hold office for a period of five years. (2)
Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), a member
may.? (3)
by writing under her hand and addressed to the Government resign her office at any
time; (ii) be removed from office in accordance with the provisions of Section 11. (4)
A vacancy arising by reason of resignation or removal of any
member of the Commission under sub-section (2) or otherwise shall be filled up
in accordance with the provisions contained in Section 5: Provided that a person so
appointed shall hold office for the remaining period of the term of the person
in whose place such person is appointed. (5) The
members shall receive such remuneration and other allowances and shall be
governed by such conditions of service as may be prescribed: Provided that such
conditions of service shall not be varied to the disadvantage of a member after
her appointment. The quorum for a meeting of
the commission shall be four. (1)
The meeting of the Commission shall be presided over by the of
Chairperson or in her absence a member Business chosen for the purpose by the
members present. (2)
All questions at a meeting of the Commission shall be decided by a
majority of the votes of the members present and voting and in case of equality
of votes, the Chairperson or the member presiding, as the case may be, shall
have a second or casting vote. (3)
The Commission may invite, if it is considered necessary, for such
purposes and on such conditions as may be prescribed, any person with expert
knowledge in a particular subject to be present at the meeting to assist the
Commission in arriving at a decision, but such person shall not be entitled to
vote. (1)
The Commission may for the purpose of transacting any business
before it or for any special issue constitute an ad hoc Committee consisting
of.? (a)
not more than two members of the Commission; (b)
not more than two experts chosen by the Commission on any
particular subject. (2)
If the Chairperson is a member of the Committee, the Chairperson
shall preside over the meeting of the Committee. (3)
The quorum for the meeting, the manner of disposal of business and
submission of report of the Ad hoc Committee shall be in such manner and in
such form as may be prescribed. (4)
The final report of the ad hoc Committee shall be placed before
the Commission for its approval and on the approval thereof by the Commission
it shall be deemed to be the report of the Commission. (5)
The experts in the ad hoc Committee shall be paid such
remuneration as may be prescribed. No act or proceeding of the
Commission shall be invalidated by reason only of any defect or irregularity in
its constitution or on the ground of existence of any vacancy in the office of
any member. Any member of the Commission
may be removed from office by an order of the Government, if she.-- (a)
becomes an undischarged insolvent; (b)
is convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for an offence which
involves moral turpitude; (c)
becomes of unsound mind; (d)
refuses to act or becomes incapable of acting; (e)
is without obtaining level of absence from the Commission, absents
from three consecutive meetings of the Commission; or (f)
in the opinion of the Government, has so abused the position of
Chairperson or member as to render that person's continuance in Office is
detrimental to the public interest; Provided that a member
shall not be removed under this section until that person has been given a
reasonable opportunity of being heard in the matter. (1)
The Government may, in consultation with the Commission, appoint a
woman as Director for making investigations for the purposes of this Act and to
carry out such directives given to her by the Commission besides the functions
conferred on her by this Act. The Government may appoint such other staff as
may be necessary to assist the Commission by deputation or by direct
recruitment and prescribe their conditions of service. (2)
The qualifications, term of appointment and other conditions of
service of the Director shall be such as may be prescribed. (3)
In the discharge of their functions under this Act, the Director
and other staff referred to in sub-section (1) shall be subject to the
administrative control of the Chairperson. (1)
The salaries and allowances payable to the members and the
administrative expenses, including the salaries, allowances and pensions
payable to, or in respect of the Director and other staff of the Commission, shall
be paid out of the grants made under sub-section (2). (2)
The Government shall after due appropriation made by the
Legislative Assembly by law in this behalf pay to the Commission by way of
grants such sums of money as the Government may think fit for being utilised
for the purpose of this Act. (3)
The Commission may spend such turns for performing the functions
under this Act and such sums shall be treated as expenditure payable out of the
grants referred to in subsection (2). (1)
The Commission shall, for the purpose of any inquiry under this
Act have the same powers as are vested in a Civil Court while trying a suit
under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Central Act 5 of 1908) in respect of
the following matters, namely.? (a)
summoning and enforcing the attendance of any witness and
examining him; (b)
requiring the discovery and production of any document; (c)
receiving evidence on affidavits; (d)
requisitioning any public records or copy thereof from any public
office; (e)
issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses. (2)
Any proceeding before the Commission shall be deemed to be a
judicial proceeding within the meaning of Sections 193 and 228 of the Indian
Penal Code (Central Act 45 of 1860) and the Commission shall be deemed to be a
Court for the purpose of Section 195 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973
(Central Act 2 of 1974). (1)
The Commission shall perform all or any of the following
functions, namely.? (2)
inquire into any unfair practice, take decision thereon and recommend to the Government
the action to be taken in that matter; (3)
cause investigations to be made by the Director on issues of
importance concerning women and issues concerning unfair practice and to report
thereon to the Government on the corrective measures to be taken; (4)
submit to the Government annual reports on;-- (a)
the lacunae, inadequacies, or shortcomings in the laws in force
which effect the constitutional right to equality and fair treatment of women and
also on the remedial legislative measures to be taken to meet the situation; (b)
the monitoring of the working of laws in force concerning women
with a view to identifying the areas where the enforcement of laws is not
adequately effective or has not been streamlined and recommending executive or
legislative measures to be taken; (c)
monitoring the recruitments made to State Public Services and
State Public Undertakings and promotions within the said services and
scrutinising the rules and regulations governing such recruitments and
promotions with a view to reporting to guarantee equal opportunity to women in
the matter of such recruitments and promotions; (5)
inspect or cause to be inspected, by the Director or any officer
of the Commission authorised by the Commission in that behalf, prisons, police
stations, lock-ups, sub-jails, rescue homes or other places of custody where
women are kept as prisoners or otherwise, or shelters for women or other places
run by the Government or any of its agencies including agencies receiving aid
from the Government for the purpose of offering rescue or shelter to women, or
hostels intended for women or girls run by any person and such other places
wherein unfair practice to women is complained of and cause further inquiries
to be made about the treatment that women and girls are subjected to at such
places and to report to the Government for taking remedial action;- (6)
in cases where the Commission is of the view that any public
servant has been grossly negligent or grossly indifferent in regard to the
discharge of his duties in relation to the protection of the interests of
women, recommend to the concerned disciplinary authority to initiate
disciplinary action; (7)
recommend to Government, the welfare measures to be adopted and
implemented by the Government with a view to ameliorating the conditions of
women; (8)
formulate a comprehensive and affirmative scheme for securing
equal opportunities to women and devise a programme for implementing such
scheme which shall be forwarded to the Government for approval thereof with or
without modifications, implement the same; (9)
empower the Director to recommend to the appropriate authority to
take prosecution proceedings in respect of offences committed against women
under any statute providing for penalty for violation of the provisions of such
statute; (10)
maintain comprehensive Data Bank relating to the social, economic
and political conditions of women including comparative study, updating the
same from time to time making available such data for use in actions for
vindication of the rights of women; (11)
recommend to Government to initiate legislation for removal of
discrimination in the case of inheritance, guardianship, adoption and divorce
or for matters relating to the safeguarding of the dignity of women and the
honour of motherhood; (12)
call for special studies or investigations into specific problems
or situations arising out of discrimination and atrocities against women and
identify the constraints so as to recommend strategies for their removal; (13)
participate and advise on the planning process of socioeconomic
development of women; (14)
fund litigation involving issues affecting a large body of women; (15)
make periodical reports to the Government on any matter pertaining
to women and in particular various difficulties under which women toil; (16)
undertake promotional and educational research so as to suggest
ways of ensuring due representation of women in all spheres and identify
factors responsible for impeding their advancement, such as, lack of access to
housing and basic services inadequate support services and technologies for,
reducing drudgery and occupational health hazards and for increasing their productivity; (17)
any other matter which may be referred to it by the Government. (18)
The Government shall cause the recommendations of the Commission
under sub-section (1) to be laid before the Legislative Assembly during its
next session along with a memorandum of action taken or proposed to be taken on
the said recommendations and the reasons for the non-acceptance, if any, of any
of such recommendations and cause action to be taken thereon by the authority
concerned within two months from the date of laying such recommendations. (1)
The Commission shall inquire into any unfair practice.? (a)
on receiving a written complaint from any woman alleging that she
has been subjected to any unfair practice or on a similar complaint from her
mother or father or sister or brother or from any women's organisation; (b)
on its own knowledge or information; (c)
on any request from the Government. (2)
Where the complaint has been made under clause (a) of sub-section
(1), the Commission may, before the issue of any process to the person
complained against, cause a preliminary investigation to be made by the
director in such manner as it may deem fit, for the purpose of satisfying
itself that the complaint requires to be enquired into. (3)
Where the person against whom the complaint has been made, appears
and shows cause or fails to appear on the day appointed for that purpose, the
Commission may proceed to inquire into the matter in the complaint and take a
decision thereon and if the Commission finds that there is unfair practice it
shall recommend to the Government the action to be taken thereon or to initiate
prosecution. (4)
The Government shall, within two months from the date of record of
the recommendation of the Commission under sub-section (3) take a decision
thereon and intimate the same to the Commission. Explanation.--For the
purpose of this Section, person includes a firm, company, corporation or any
public undertaking, association of persons or the Government and its agencies
including agencies receiving aid from the Government. (1)
The Commission, after inquiry, inspection or as the case may be
the investigation under the provisions of this Act, is satisfied that a person
has committed any criminal offence may recommend to the State Government or the
appropriate authority, as the case may be, to institute legal proceedings or
prosecution in the matter and may also recommend to the State Government or the
appropriate authority, to appoint a Counsel or a Special Public Prosecutor for
the conduct of any such legal proceedings or prosecution; and the State
Government may, having regard to the nature of the case and on being satisfied
that it is necessary, in its opinion, to appoint a Counsel or Special Public
Prosecutor, do so. (2)
The State Government or the appropriate authority, as the case may
be, shall communicate in writing to the Commission, from time to time, the
progress of any such legal proceeding or prosecution filed on the
recommendation of the Commission. (3)
The State Government or the appropriate authority shall not apply
for withdrawal of any such case or proceedings instituted under sub-section
(1), without the prior consultation, in writing, with the Commission. The annual report submitted
to the Government by the Commission in accordance with clause (III) of
sub-section (1) of Section 15 shall be laid, before the Legislative Assembly,
during its next session together with a memorandum of action taken on the recommendations contained
therein and the reasons for the non-acceptance, if any, of any such
recommendations. 19. Sittings of the Commission.-- (1)
The Commission shall hold sittings ordinarily atleast one in three
months or earlier whenever required to enquire into any unfair practice. (2)
The Commission shall with the previous approval of the Government
make regulations for regulating its procedure and the disposal of its business
and such regulations shall, after they are made, be published in the Gazette. (3)
The Chairperson may, with the approval of the Commission, assign
any function of the Chairperson or of the Commission to any other member or
members of the Commission. All orders and decisions of
and all other proceedings or instruments, if any, issued by the Commission
shall be authenticated by the signature of the Director or of such other
Officer as may be authorised by the Commission in this behalf. All orders and decisions of
and all other proceedings or instruments, if any, issued by the Commission
shall be authenticated by the signature of the Director or of such other
Officer as may be authorised by the Commission in this behalf. The Government shall
consult the Commission on all major policy matters relating to women. All members, officers and
other employees of the Commission shall be deemed, when acting or purporting to
act in pursuance of any of the provisions of this Act, to be public servants
within the meaning of Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code. No suit, prosecution or
other legal proceedings shall lie against any member of the Commission or any
officer of the Commission for anything which is in good faith done or intended
to be done under this Act (Central Act 45, of 1860) or the rules made
thereunder, Notwithstanding anything
contained in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 or any other law for the time
being in force, no Court shall grant any injunction restraining any proceeding
which is being or about to be taken under the provisions of this Act. (Central
Act V of 1908). (1)
If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of
this Act the Government may, by order, do anything not inconsistent with such
provisions to remove such difficulty, (2)
No order under sub-section (1), shall be made after the expiration
of a period of two years from the commencement of this Act. (3)
Every order made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may
be after it is made, before the Legislative Assembly. (1) The
Government may, by notification make rules for the purpose of carrying out all
or any of the provisions of this Act. (2)
I particular (sic) and without prejudice to the generality of the
for going power, such rules may provide for.? (a)
the salary, allowance and other conditions of service of the
members, the Director and other staff of the Commission; (b)
procedure for removal of the members of the Commission under
Section 11; (c)
procedure for inquiries under Section 16 of the Act; (d)
investigations by the Director; (e)
procedure for inspection of prisons, police stations, lock-ups,
sub-jails, rescue homes or other places of custody where women are kept as
prisoners, or otherwise or shelters for women or other places run by the
Government or any of its agencies including agencies receiving aid from the
Government for the purpose of offering rescue or shelter to women or hostels
intended for women or girls run by any person and such other places wherein
unfair practice to women or girls is complained of or for holding of enquiries
about the treatment that women or girls are subjected to at such places; (f)
maintaining a Data Bank; (g)
the formulation of comprehensive and affirmative scheme for
securing equal opportunity to women and for the improvement and uplift of women
and programme for its implementation; (h)
procedure for recommending prosecution in respect of offences committed against women
under any statute; (i)
any other matter which has to be, or may be prescribed. (3)
Every rule made under this Act shall immediately after it is made
be laid before the Legislative Assembly of the State, if it is in session and
if it is not in session, in the session immediately following for a total
period of fourteen days which may be comprised in one session or in two
successive sessions, and if, before the expiration of the session in which it
is so laid or the session immediately following the Legislative Assembly agrees
in making any modification in the rule or in the annulment of the rule, the
rule shall, from the date on which the modification or annulment is notified
have effect only in such modified from or shall stand annulled, as the case may
be, so however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without
prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.
Preamble - THE ANDHRA PRADESH WOMEN'S COMMISSION ACT, 1998PREAMBLE