The Meghalaya State Commission for Women Act, 2005 (Act No.7 of 2005)

The
2nd May, 2005
No. LL(B). 65/93/441- The Meghalaya State Commission for Women Act, 2005 (Act No.
7 of 2005) is hereby published for general information.
MEGHALAYA ACT NO. 7 OF 2005
As passed by the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly
Received the assent of the Governor on the 29th April, 2005
(Published in the Gazette of Meghalaya Extra-ordinary, issued dated 2nd May, 2005)
THE MEGHALAYA STATE COMMISSION FOR WOMEN ACT, 2005
An
Act
To provide for the constitution of a women’s Commission to improve the status of
women in the State of Meghalaya 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 Meghalaya and to inquire into unfair practices affecting
women and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto:
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Meghalaya in the Fifty-sixth Year of
the Republic of India as follows:-
CH
APTER I
Preliminary
Short title extent 1 (1) This Act, may be called the Meghalaya State Commissio0n
and for Women Act, 2005
commencement
(2) It extends to the whole of Meghalaya
(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on 15.10.2004
Definition 2 In this Act, unless the context otherwise, requires
(a) “Act” means the Meghalaya State Commission for Women
Act, 2005
(b) “Commission” means the Meghalaya State Co mmission for
Women constituted under Section 3;
(c) “Meghalaya State Commission for Women” means the
Commission constituted under Section 3 of the Meghalaya
State Commission for Women Act, 2005
(d) “Member” means Member of the Commission;
(e) “Prescribed means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(f) “Public servant” means any employee of the Government or
a local body or any Corporation owned or control by the
Government or of any Government agency or any public
undertaking;
(g) “State Government” means the Government of the State of
Meghalaya
(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 mollifying 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, and
(i) “Women” include an adolescent girl and a female child.
CH
APTER II
Constitution of the Commission
Constitution of the 3 (1) The State Government shall constitute a body to be known
Commission as the Meghalaya State Commission for Women to exercise
powers conferred on, and to perform the functions assigned
to it, under this Act.
(2) The Commission shall consist of:-
(a) A Chairperson and a Vice Chairperson to be nominated by
State Government from among eminent women who have
served the cause of women and who have sufficient
knowledge and experience in dealing with women’s problem
(b) Four members to be appointed by the State Government
from amongst the persons of ability and integrity who have
served the cause of women or have had  experience in Law
or Administration of matters concerning the advancement of
women or leadership of any trade union or voluntary
organisation for Women for protection and promotion of
common interest of women;
(3) An Officer of the Government of Meghalaya, with
experience in the field of women’s welfare shall be the
Secretary of the Commission.
Term of office and 4 (1) The Chairperson or the Vice Chairperson or a Member, shall
conditions of the hold office for such period not exceeding three years, as may
service of Chairman be specified by the State Government in this behalf.
and Member.
(2) The Chairperson or the Vice Chairperson or a Member, may,
at any time, resign her office by writing under her hand
addressed to the State Government.
(3) The State Government may remove a person from the office
of Chairperson, or Vice Chairperson or Member, if that
person:-
(a) Becomes an undischarged insolventor; or
(b) Gets convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for an
offence which, in the opinion of the State Government,
involves moral turpitude; or
(c) Becomes of unsound mind and stands so declared by a
competent court; or
(d)
Refuses to act or becomes incapable of acting; or
(e) Is, without obtaining leave of absence from the
commission, absent from three consecutive meetings of
the Commission; or
(f) In the opinion of the State Government has so abused
the position of the Chairperson, or Vice Chairperson or
Member as to render that person’s continuance in office
detrimental to the public interest;
Provided that no person shall be removed under this
sub-section until that person has been given a
reasonable opportunity of being heard in the matter.
(4) A vacancy caused under sub-section (2) or (3) shall be
filled by a fresh nomination or appointment, as the case
may be.
(5) The Salaries and allowances or honorarium payable to,
and the other terms and conditions of service of, the
Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and Members, shall be
such as may be prescribed.
Officers and other 5 (1) The State Government shall appoint the Secretary as per
employees of the provision Section 3 (3).
Commission
(2) The Commission shall appoint other employees to assist
the Commission in its day to day function, by direct
recruitment or on deputation with the prior approval of
the State Government.
(3) The Salaries and allowances payable to, and the other
terms and conditions of service of the officers and other
employees appointed for the purpose of the Commission
shall be such as may be prescribed
Salaries and 6 The Salaries and allowances or honorarium payable to the
allowances to be paid Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and Members, and the
out of grant made by administrative expense including salaries allowances, etc,
State Government. payable to the officers and others employees referred to in
Section 5 shall be paid out of grant made by the State
Government.
Vacancies etc., not to 7 No act or proceeding of the Commission or any Committee
invalidate proceedings thereof shall be invalid by reason only of the existence of
of the Commission any vacancy in or any defect in the constitution of the
Commission or such Committee as the case may be.
Co
mmittees of the 8 (1) The Commission may appoint such committee or
Commission. committees as may be necessary for dealing with such
special issues as may be taken up by the Commission
from time to time.
(2) The Commission may with the prior approval of the
State Government co-opt as members of any Committee
appointed under sub-section (1) such number of person,
who are not members of the Commission, as it may
think fit and the persons so co-opted shall have the right
to attend the meeting of the Committee and take part in
its proceeding but shall have the right to vote.
(3) The persons so co-opted shall be entitled to receive such
allowances for attending the meetings of the Committee
as may be prescribed.
Procedure to the 9 (1) The Commission or a committee thereof shall meet at
regulated by the such time and at such place as the Chairperson may
Commission. think fit.
(2) The Commission shall regulate its own procedure and
the procedure of the Committees thereof.
(3) All orders and decisions of the Commission shall be
authenticated by the signature of the Chairperson or
Vice Chairperson or any officers of the Commission
authorised in writing by the Chairperson or Vice
Chairperson in this behalf.
Quorum 10 The quorum for a meeting of a Commission shall be half of
the total members (including the Chairperson and the Vice-
Chairperson).
Power to invite 11 The Commission shall have the power to invite a
representative of representative of the National Commission for Women to
National Commission its meetings as it may deem necessary.
for women.
CH
APTER –III
Powers of the Commission
Powers of the 12 (1) The Commission shall, for the purpose of any inquiry
Commission under this Act have the same powers as are vested in a
Civil Courts 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/her.
(b) Requiring the discovery and production of any
document;
(c) Receiving evidence on affidavit;
(d) Requisitioning any public records or copy thereof
from any public office;
(e) Issuing commissions for examination of witnesses.
(2) Any proceeding before the Commission shall be deemed
to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of Section
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)
CHAPTER –IV
Functions of the Commission
Functions of the 13 (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Commission
Commission shall perform all or any of the following functions,
namely;
(a) Inquire into unfair practice, take decision thereon and
to recommend to the Government the action to be
taken in that matter.
(b) Investigate and examine all matters relating to the
safeguards provided for women under the
Constitution of India (herein after referred to as the
Constitution) and other laws and recommend steps to
be taken by the State Government for effective
implementation of such safe guards for improving the
conditions of women in the State.
(c
) Present to the State Government annually and at such
other times as the Commission may deem fit reports
upon the working of these safeguards;
(d) Review from time to time the existing provisions of
the Constitution and other laws affecting women and
recommend amendments thereto as to suggest
remedial legislative measure to meet any lacunae,
inadequacies or shortcomings in such legislators;
(e) Take up the case of violation of the provisions of the
Constitution and of other laws relating to women in
the State with the appropriate authorities;
(f) Look into complaints and take suo moto notice of
matters relating to:-
i) Deprivation of women’s right;
ii) Non-implementation of laws enacted to
provide protection to women and also to
achieve the objective of equality and
development;
iii) Non-compliance of policy decisions,
guidelines or instructions aimed at mitigating
hardships and ensuring welfare and providing
relief to women, and take up the issues arising
out of such matters with appropriate
authorities;
(g) Call for special studies or investigations into
problems or situation arising out of discrimination
and atrocities against women and identify the
constraint so as to recommend strategies for their
removal;
(h) Evaluate the progress of advancement of women in
the State;
(i) Inspect or cause to inspected jail, police
station/lockup, observation home, children’s home,
rescue home, shelter home, or other place of custody
where women are kept as prisoners or otherwise and
take up with the authorities concerned such matters
for remedial action as may be necessary.
(2)
The State Government may consult the Commission on
policy matters affecting women
(3) The Commission shall present to the State Government
every six months and at such other times as the
Commission may deem fit reports of its activities
together with its recommendations and the State
Government shall cause them to be laid before the State
Legislature as soon as possible along with a
memorandum explaining the action taken or proposed to
be taken on the recommendations and the reasons for
non-acceptance, if any, of any of such recommendations.
(4) It shall be the duty of the Commission to furnish
comments and recommendations on any report of the
National Commission for Women on any matter with
which the Government is concerned as the State
Government may call for.
CHAPTER – V
Finance, Accounts and Audit
Grant by State 14 (1) The State Government shall under appropriation made by
Government etc. the State Legislature by law in this behalf, pay to the
Commission by way of grant such sums of money and in
such manner as the State Government in the consultation
with the Commission may think fit for being utilised for
the purposes of this Act.
(2) The Commission may with the previous sanction of the
State Government and subject to such and conditions as
may be specified in this behalf by the State Government
may receive grant from Government of India, North
Eastern Council, International Funding Agency or other
Organisation of similar nature.
(3) The Commission may spend such sums of money as it
thinks fit for performing the functions under this Act, and
such sums of money shall be treated as expenditure
payable out of the grant referred to in sub-section (1) and
(2).
Accounts and Audit 15 (1) The Commission shall maintain proper accounts and other
relevant records and prepare statement of accounts in such
form as may be prescribed by the State Government in
consultation with the Accountant General, Meghalaya
(2)
The annual accounts of the Commission shall be audited
by the Accountant General, Meghalaya.
(3) The Accountant General, Meghalaya shall have the same
rights and privileges and the authority in connection with
such audit as the Accountant General, Meghalaya generally
has in connection with the audit of Government accounts
and in particular, shall have the right to demand the
production of books, accounts, connected vouchers and
other documents and papers and to inspect any of the
offices of the Commission.
(4) The accounts of the Commission, as certified by the
Account General, Meghalaya together with the audit report
thereon shall be forwarded annually to the State
Government by the Commission.
CHAPTER – VI
Miscellaneous
Chairperson 16 The Chairperson, the Vice Chairperson, the Members, Officers
members and staff and other employees of the Commission shall be deemed to be
of the Commission public servants within the meaning of Section 21 of the Indian
to the public Penal Code and Section 2 (c) of the Prevention of Corruption
servants. Act, 1988.
Protection of acts 17 No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie against
done in good faith any member of the Commission or any officer of the
Commission for anything which n good faith done or intended
to be done under this Act or the rules made there under.
Power to make 18 (1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official
Rules. Gazette, make rules for carrying out the provisions of this
Act.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generally of the
foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of
the following matters, namely:-
(a) The salaries and allowances or honorarium payable to,
and the other terms and conditions of service of the
Chairperson, the Vice Chairperson and the Members
under sub-section (5) of Section 4 and the officers and
other employees under sub-section (3) of Section 5
(b)
The form in which the annual statement of accounts
shall be maintained under sub-section (1) of Section
15.
(c) Any other matter which is required to be, or may be
prescribed.
(3) Every rule made under this Act shall be laid, as soon as
may be after it is made before the State Legislature, while
it is in session and if the State Legislature agrees in making
any modification in the rule or the State Legislature agress
that the rules should not be made, the rules shall thereafter
have effect 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.
Repeal. 19 (1) The Meghalaya State Commission for Women Ordinance
2005 is hereby repealed.
(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action
taken under said Ordinance shall be deemed to have been
done ort taken under the provisions of this Act.
S. DYKES,
Joint Secretary to the Govt. of Meghalaya,
Law (B) Department.

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