1.1 The functions, duties and power of the Commission have been laid down in clauses(5), (8) and (9) of the Article 338 of the Constitution. (Annexure-II) of the handbook
Clause (5): It shall be the duty of the Commission: -
(a) to investigate and monitor all matters relating to the safeguards provided for the Scheduled Castes under this Constitution or under any other law for the time being in force or under any order of the Government and to evaluate the working of such safeguards;
(b) to inquire into specific complaints with respect to the deprivation of rights and safeguards of the Scheduled Castes;
(c) to participate and advise on the planning process of socio-economic development of the Scheduled Castes and to evaluate the progress of their development under the FUNCTIONS Union and any State;
(d) to present to the President, annually and at such other times as the Commission may deem fit, reports upon the working of those safeguards;
(e) to make in such reports recommendations as to the measures that should be taken by the Union or any State for the effective implementation of those safeguards and other measures for the protection, welfare and socio-economic development of the Scheduled Castes; and
(f) to discharge such other functions in relation to the
protection, welfare and development and advancement of the
Scheduled Castes as the President may, subject to the
provisions of any law made by Parliament, by rule specify.
protection, welfare and development and advancement of the
Scheduled Castes as the President may, subject to the
provisions of any law made by Parliament, by rule specify.
Clause (8) : The Commission shall, while investigating any matter referred to in sub-clause (a) or inquiring into any complaint referred to in sub-clause (b) of clause (5), have all the powers of a civil court trying a suit and in particular in respect of the following matters, namely:
(a) Summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person from any part of India and examining him on oath;
(b) Requiring the discovery and production of any documents;
(c) Receiving evidence on affidavits;
(d) Requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any
court or office;
(e) Issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses and documents;
(f) Any other matter which the President may by rule, determine;
Clause (9)- The Union and every State Government shall consult the Commission
on all major policy matters affecting Scheduled Castes.
on all major policy matters affecting Scheduled Castes.
2. CONSTITUTIONAL SAFEGUARDS
The important Constitutional Safeguards for Scheduled Castes is mentioned below:-
(A) Development and Protective Safeguards
These safeguards are contained in the Directive Principles of State Policy of the Constitution and a specific provision in Article 46 which is a comprehensive provision comprising both the developmental and regulatory aspects. It reads as follows:-
Article 46 “The State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation”.
(B) Social Safeguards
Article 17 “Untouchability” is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising out of “Untouchability” shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law.
To give effect to this Article, Parliament made an enactment viz., Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955. To make the provisions of this Act more stringent, the Act was amended in 1976 and was also renamed as the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955. As provided under the Act, the Government of India also notified the Rules, viz, the PCR Rules, 1977, to carry out the provisions of this Act. As cases of atrocities on SCs/STs were not covered under the provisions of PCR Act, 1955, Parliament passed another important Act in 1989 for taking specific measures to prevent the atrocities. This Act known as the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, became effective from 30-1-1990. For carrying out the provisions of this Act the Govt. of India have notified the SCs and STs (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules, 1995 on 31-3-1995. Copies of PCR Act, 1955, PCR Rules 1977, the SCs and the STs (POA) Act, 1989 and the SCs and STs (POA) Rules 1995 are placed at Annexures-V, VI, VII and VIII of the handbook respectively.
Article 23 prohibits traffic in human beings and beggar and other similar forms of forced labour and provides that any contravention of this provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law. It does not specifically mention SCs but since majority of bounded labour belong to SCs this Article has a special significance for these communities. In pursuance of this Article, Parliament has enacted the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976. For effective implementation of this Act, the Ministry of Labour is running a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for identification, liberation and rehabilitation of bonded labour.
Article 24 provides that no child below the age of 14 years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment. There are Central and State laws to prevent child labour. This Article is also significant for SCs as a substantial portion of child labour engaged in hazardous jobs belong to these groups.
Article 25(2) (b) provides that Hindu religious institutions of a public character shall be thrown open to all classes and sections of Hindus. This provision is relevant as some sects of Hindus used to claim that only members of the concerned sects had a right to enter their temples. This was only a subterfuge to prevent entry of SC persons in such temples. For the purpose of this provision the term Hindu includes Sikh, Jain and Buddhist.
(C) Economic Safeguards
The provisions of Articles 23, 24 and 46 mentioned above also form part of the economic safeguards for Scheduled Castes.
(D) Educational and Cultural Safeguards
Article 15(4) empowers the State to make any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for SCs and STs. This provision w as added to the Constitution through the Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951, which amended several Articles. This provision has enabled the State to reserve seats for SCs and STs in educational institutions including technical, engineering and medical colleges and in Scientific & Specialized Courses. In this Article as well as in Article 16(4) the term ‘backward classes’ is used as a generic term and comprises various categories of backward classes, viz., Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, De-notified Communities (Vimukta Jatiyan) and Nomadic/Semi nomadic communities.
(E) Political Safeguards
Article 164(I) provides that in the States of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa there shall be a Minister in charge of tribal welfare who may in addition be in charge of the welfare of the Scheduled Castes and backward classes or any other work.
Article 330 provides for reservation of seats for SCs and STs in the Lok Sabha.
Article 332 provides for reservation of seats for SCs/STs in the State Vidhan Sabhas (Legislative Assemblies).
Article 334 originally laid down that the provisions relating to the reservation of seats for SCs/STs in the Lok Sabha and State Vidhan Sabhas (and the representation of the Anglo-Indian community in the Lok Sabha and the State Vidhan Sabhas by nomination) would cease to have effect on the expiration of a period of ten years from the commencement of the Constitution. This Article has been amended five times, extending the said period by ten years on each occasion. This provision will now expire in January, 2010.
Article 371A contains special provisions with respect to Nagaland.
Article 371B contains special provisions with respect to Assam.
Article 371C contains special provisions with respect to Manipur.
Article 371F contains special provisions with respect to Sikkim.
(F) Service Safeguards
Article 16(4) empowers the State to make “any provision for the reservation in appointments or posts in favour of any backward class of citizens which, in the opinion of the State, is not adequately represented in the services under the State”.
Article 16(4A) specific that nothing in this Article shall prevent the State from making any provision for reservation in matters of promotion, “with consequent seniority” to any class or classes of posts in the services under the State in favour of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes which, in the opinion of the State, are not adequately represented in the services under the State”.
Article 16(4A) specific that nothing in this Article shall prevent the State from making any provision for reservation in matters of promotion, “with consequent seniority” to any class or classes of posts in the services under the State in favour of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes which, in the opinion of the State, are not adequately represented in the services under the State”.
Article 16(4B) –“Specific that nothing in this article shall prevent the State from considering any unfilled vacancies of a year which are reserved for being filled up in that year in accordance with any provision for reservation made under clause (4) or clause (4A) as a separate class of vacancies to be filled up in any succeeding year or years and such class of vacancies shall not be considered together with the vacancies of the year in which they are being filled up for determining the ceiling of fifty percent reservation on total number of vacancies of that year”.
Article 320 (4) provides that nothing in clause (3) shall require a Public Service Commission to be consulted as respects the manner in which any provision under Article 16(4A) may be made or the manner in which effect may be given to the provisions of Article 335
Article 335 mentions that the claims of the members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes shall be taken into consideration, consistently with the maintenance of efficiency of administration, in the making to appointments to services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or of a State”
Article 320 (4) provides that nothing in clause (3) shall require a Public Service Commission to be consulted as respects the manner in which any provision under Article 16(4A) may be made or the manner in which effect may be given to the provisions of Article 335
Article 335 mentions that the claims of the members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes shall be taken into consideration, consistently with the maintenance of efficiency of administration, in the making to appointments to services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or of a State”
“Provided that nothing in this Article shall prevent in making of any provision in favor of Member of SCs & STs for relaxation in qualifying marks in any examination or lowering the standards of evaluation, for reservation in matters of promotion to any class or classes of services or posts in connection with affairs of Union or of a State” (Constitutional 82nd Amendment,-Act, 2000).
3. STATUTES AND LEGISLATIONS
There are a number of laws, both Central and State, which provide for safeguards to SCs. Some of these emanate from the various Constitutional provisions. An illustrative list of such laws is given below:
- The Protection of Civil Rights Act- 1955(in respect of Scheduled Castes)
- The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989
- The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 (in respect of Scheduled Castes)
- The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 (in respect of Scheduled Castes)
- The Minimum Wages Act 1948 (in respect of Scheduled Castes)
- Acts and regulations in force in different States to prevent alienation of land belonging to SCs. In some States such provision exists in the Land Revenue Code.
4. SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
4.1 Section (9) of the Article 338 of the Constitution reads as follows:
“The Union and every State Government shall consult the Commission on all major policy matters affecting Scheduled Castes.”
The Constitution has made it mandatory for the Union and every State Government to consult the Commission on all major Policy matters affecting SCs. This is very important function of the Commission, which has to keep track of all the major policy decisions, Legislative of Executive action taken by the Government of India or any State Government.
4.2 As per the provisions of Clause 5 (c ) of Article 338, the Commission is required to participate and advise on the planning process of socio-economic development of SCs and evaluate the progress of their development under Union and any State. The role of the Commission in these areas involve interaction at various levels, i.e., with the Planning Commission, with the Central Ministries and with the State Governments. The Commission and its officers both at Headquarters and the State offices participate in formulation of policies and the developmental programmes for SCs including Special Component Plan for Scheduled Castes.
5. PROCEDURE FOR INQUIRY
5.1 Inquiry into specific complaints
The Commission is required to inquire into specific complaints with respect to the deprivation of rights and safeguards of Scheduled Castes. In order to enable the Commission to perform this function effectively and efficiently, the Commission would like the members of Scheduled Castes to know that it will be helpful to inquire into their grievances if they substantiate their complaints with supporting documents and quote the relevant provisions of the Act or Rules directions which have been violated.
5.2 The following aspect may be kept in mind while filing complaints before the Commission.
(a) The complaint should be directly addressed to the Chairman/Vice-Chairman/Secretary, National Commission for Scheduled Castes, New Delhi or the heads of its State Offices.
(b) The complaints should disclose his full identity and give his full address and should sign the representation.
(c) Complaints should be legibly written or typed and, where necessary, supported by authenticated documents.
(d) No action will be taken on matters which are sub-judice. Hence sub-judice matter need not be referred to the Commission as complaint(s).
(e) Cases pending in courts or cases in which a court has already given its final verdict may not be taken up afresh with the Commission.
5.3 Inquiry into cases of atrocities
5.3.1 Whenever information is received in the Commission about any incident of atrocity against a person belonging to Scheduled Castes, the Commission would immediately get in touch with the law enforcing and administrative machinery of the State and the district to ascertain the details of incident and the action taken by the district administration.
5.3.2. The Commission ensures the following while by monitoring and issuing instructions to the concerned authorities.
(i) Whether the scene of occurrence of the crime has been visited immediately by Collector and Supdt. of Police of the district on receipt of information.
(ii) Whether proper FIR is registered in local Police Station.
(iii) Whether names of all the persons involved/cited by the complainant has been included in the FIR.
(iv) Whether investigation has been taken up by a Senior Police
Officer as per provisions of SCs & STs (POA) Act- 1989.
Officer as per provisions of SCs & STs (POA) Act- 1989.
(v) Whether culprits has been apprehended and booked without loss
of time.
of time.
(vi) Whether proper charge sheet is filed mentioning the relevant
sections of IPC together with the PCR Act-1955 and SCs & STs (POA) Act-1989 in Court.
sections of IPC together with the PCR Act-1955 and SCs & STs (POA) Act-1989 in Court.
(vii) Whether the cases are tried by the Special Courts.
(viii) Whether special Public Prosecutors are appointed to handle these cases.
(ix) Whether Police assists the courts in bringing forward witnesses and see that the culprits are suitably punished by the courts.
5.3.3 The Commission will also monitor that
(i) The victims are provided with suitable medical assistance and on time;
(ii) Adequate protection is arranged for the victims of such incidents by providing police protection by stationing a police party, by patrolling, etc;
(iii) To see that proper compensation is paid to the victims as per provisions of law.
5.3.4 The Commission will, wherever possible depending upon the gravity and circumstances of the case, visit the place of incident to oversee the arrangements and to console and infuse confidence among the victims.
5.3.5 The Commission has laid down detailed procedure for conducting such inquiries and monitoring at all levels. Such inquiries can be conduced by the Members of the Commission or Teams of Investigators from Headquarters or State office of the Commission.
5.4 Powers of the Commission to act as a Civil Court
5.4 Powers of the Commission to act as a Civil Court
While investigating any matter referred to in sub-clause (a) or inquiring into specific complaints under sub-clause (b) of the clause (5) of Article 338 of the Constitution, the Commission shall have the powers of a Civil Court trying a suit and in particular in respect of the following matters:
(a) Summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person from any part of India and examining him on oath;
(b) Requiring the discovery and production of any document;
(c) Receiving evidence on affidavits;
(d) Requisitioning of any public record or copy thereof from any court of office;
(e) Issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses the documents;
(f) Any other matter which the President may, by rule, determine.
5.5 Power to regulate its own procedure
Clause 4 of the amended Article 338 of the Constitution empowers the Commission to regulate its own procedure for a meaningful performance. The Commission has framed the Rules of Procedure. A copy of the Rules of Procedure of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes as notified on 1st September, 2004 at given (Annexure X ) of the Handbook.
6. APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY ADOPTED BY THE COMMISSION.
6.1. Keeping in view its Constitutional obligations and the issues that are now critical, after almost half a century of independence, for the overall development and mainstreaming of the Scheduled Castes, the present Commission, constituted in February, 2004 has adopted a more vigorous approach in its functioning. The meetings of the Commission are held regularly and the implementation of decisions taken is monitored keenly.
6.2 In order to monitor and evaluate the impact of development schemes, the Commission has decided to interact with the State/UT Governments more actively by holding State level review meetings with the Chief Secretaries and other senior officers and conducting field level visits. The Commission feels that as a result of these visits and meetings, the State/UT Governments will become more conscious of the genuine problems of the Scheduled Castes and would take the necessary initiative in working out remedial measures and adopting appropriate strategies.
6.3 The Commission, through its Headquarters and State Offices has also conducted field level inquiries and studies. This process has been given a renewed vigour with a view to ensure prompt relief, specially in matters, relating to crimes and atrocities on Scheduled Castes and the grant of development benefits.
6.4 The procedure for investigating into complaints, especially with reference to violation of service safeguards, has also been streamlined to ensure prompt and speedy disposal of cases and relief in genuine cases. By calling officers and concerned Liaison Officers to the Commission with all relevant records, many long pending cases are being decided in one or two sittings. The Commission has also used its powers of Civil Court to summon documents and enforcing attendance in conducting the inquiries.
6.5 The Commission is of the view that it is only through proper planning and effective implementation of appropriate schemes for development that the Scheduled Castes can hope to catch up with the rest of the population and realize their full potential. The Commission has, thus, made a beginning by actively associating itself and participating in the planning process at the National and State levels. Regular communication is being maintained with the Planning Commission, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment and the State/UT Governments. The Annual Plans of the Central Ministries, States and UT Governments are being analysed in the Commission to this end with the support of its State Offices.
7. Consultation with Commission
Under the amended Article 338 (9), it has been provided that the Union and State Governments shall consult the Commission on all major policy matters affecting the Scheduled Castes. The Commission has impressed upon all concerned that this provision should be strictly enforced, as a result of which many Bills and other Policy matters affecting Scheduled Castes is now being received in the Commission for its views. The Commission would like to reiterate the obligatory nature of this provision and solicit the support of all concerned to bring to its notice new policies and change in existing policies, which have a bearing on the interests of SCs.
8. COMMISSION’S REPORT
8.1 Clause 5(d) of Article 338 provides “to present to the President, annually and at such other times as the Commission may deem fit, reports upon the working of those safeguards” and Clause 5(e) provides “to make in such reports, recommendations as to the measures that should be taken by the Union or any State for the effective implementation of those safeguards and other measures for the protection, welfare and socio-economic development of the Scheduled Castes.”
8.2 As per provision of these Clauses it is the duty of the Commission to present annually a report upon the working of Constitutional safeguards and measures taken by the Union and the States for the protection and welfare of the Scheduled Castes. In this series the erstwhile National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has presented seven Annual Reports and four Special Reports during the period from 12th March, 1992 to 19th February, 2004 containing a number of recommendations.
8.3 Clause 6 of Article 338 provides, “The President shall cause all such reports to be laid before each House of Parliament along with a Memorandum explaining the action taken or proposed to be taken on the recommendations relating to the Union and the reasons for the non-acceptance, if any, of such recommendations.
8.4 Clause 7 of Article 338 provides, “Where any such report or any part thereof relates to any matter with which any State Government is concerned, a copy of such report shall be forwarded to the Governor of the State who shall cause it to be laid before the Legislature of the State along with a Memorandum explaining the action taken or proposed to be taken on the recommendations relating to the State and the reasons for non-acceptance, if any, of any of such recommendations.
9. Organisational set up of the Secretariat of the Commission
The National Commission for Scheduled Castes functions from the Headquarters located at New Delhi and from 12 State Offices of the Commission located in various States/UTs. The location and jurisdiction of these Offices and designation of office heads is given at Annexure-XI of the handbook.
9.1 There are four Wings at Hqrs.
1. Administration & Coordination Wing
2. Service Safeguards Wing
3. Atrocities and Protection of Civil Rights Wing
4. Economic & Social Development Wing
9.2 Administration and Co-ordination Wing
This Wing looks after personnel management of officers and staff of the Secretariat of the Commission and provide administrative support in the functioning of the Commission. The Co-ordination Wing co-ordinates the various activities being performed in the Commission, including making arrangements for holding internal meetings of the Commission as well as with State/UT Administrations for reviewing the implementation of
constitutional safeguards.
9.3 Service Safeguards Wing This Wing is dealing with the implementation of service safeguards provided to Scheduled Castes in the Central/State Government services as well as Central and State Government Public Sector Undertakings. All representations/complaints relating to Scheduled Castes persons about their service matters are dealt within this Wing. In addition, policy matters relating to enactment/Government orders and instructions pertaining to representation of Scheduled Castes in service, evaluation studies/surveys relating to implementation of the various Constitutional safeguards in respect of service matters are dealt in this Wing. Cases relating to false caste certificate and inclusion or exclusion of caste(s) in Scheduled Castes list are also dealt in this Wing.
This Wing is dealing with matters pertaining to atrocities caused on Scheduled Castes and cases relating to protection of Civil Rights Act, the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, the Minimum Wages Act, etc. either on receipt of complaint from individuals or from newspapers report. Evaluation studies/surveys on these subjects are also conducted by this Wing.
This Wing is dealing with matters relating to development of Scheduled Castes particularly implementation and monitoring of plan schemes of the Central/State Governments. Some of the specific items of work handled by this Wing are:
(i) Special Component Plan for Scheduled Castes
(ii) National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation.
(iii) Representations/complaints made by Scheduled Castes persons regarding their grievances on matters other than atrocities, untouchability practices and service matters;
(iv) Social Research Institute and other research bodies;
(v) Land Reforms Acts and their implementation;
(vi) Education Schemes for Scheduled Castes etc.
10. FUNCTIONS OF STATE OFFICES OF THE COMMISSION
10.1 The State Offices of the Commission work as ‘eyes and ears’ of the Commission. They keep a watch on the formulation of policy and issue of guidelines relating to the welfare of Scheduled Castes in the respective States/UTs under their jurisdiction and keep the Commission Headquarters informed about the developments periodically. Policy decisions taken by any State Government/UT Administration affecting the interest of the Scheduled Castes are brought to the notice of the concerned authorities for necessary modifications. The State officers are requested to liaise with the State/UT Administration for taking up evaluation and other studies to assess the working of various development programmes implemented for the welfare of the Scheduled Castes and their impact on ameliorating the socio-economic conditions of the target groups. The findings of the studies are brought to the notice of the concerned State Government for taking remedial measures. The main observations are highlighted in the Commission’s Report.
10.2 The State Offices of the Commission are required to interact with the State Administrations and guide them with a view to see that the interests of the Scheduled Castes is protected and promoted while in formulating plans and policies. The State Offices also monitor the utilization of funds earmarked for plans pertaining to Scheduled Castes including keeping a watch on diversion of funds from Special Component Plan.
10.3 Each of the State Offices sends Quarterly Report to the Commission Hqrs. on the activities undertaken by them highlighting major issues relating to welfare of Scheduled Castes in each States/UT under their jurisdiction. These reports contain useful information about the developments in a State and enable the Commission to have an overall view in respect of various States as well as national situation for taking appropriate action.
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