National Commission for Scheduled Castes
(1) There shall be a Commission for the Scheduled Castes to be known as the National Commission for the Scheduled Castes.
(2) Subject to the provisions of any law made in this behalf by Parliament, the Commission shall consist of a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and three other Members and the conditions of service and tenure of office of the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and other Members so appointed shall be such as the President may by rule determine.
(3) The Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and other Members of the Commission shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal.
(4) The Commission shall have the power to regulate its own procedure.
(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 1*** and to evaluate the progress of their development under the 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.
(6) 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 any of such recommendations.
(7) 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 the non-acceptance, if any, of any of such recommendations.
(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 document;
(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.
(9) The Union and every State Government shall consult the Commission on all major policy matters affecting Scheduled Castes.
(10) In this article, references to the Scheduled Castes shall be construed as including references to the Anglo-Indian community.
VERSION 1
Article 299, Draft Constitution of India 1948
(1) There shall be a Special Officer for minorities for the Union who shall be appointed by the President, and a Special Officer for minorities for each State for the time being specified in Part I of the First Schedule who shall be appointed by the Governor of the State.
(2) It shall be the duty of the Special Officer for the Union to investigate all matters relating to the safeguards provided for minorities under this Constitution in connection with the affairs of the Union and to report to the President upon the working of the safeguards at such intervals as the President may direct, and the President shall cause all such reports to be laid before Parliament.
(3) It shall be the duty of the Special Officer for a State so specified to investigate all matters relating to the safeguards provided for minorities under this Constitution in connection with the affairs of the State and to report to the Governor of the State upon the working of the safeguards at such intervals as the Governor may direct and the Governor shall cause all such reports to be laid before the Legislature of the State.
VERSION 2
Article 338, Constitution of India 1950
(1) There shall be a Special Officer for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to be appointed by the President.
(2) It shall be the duty of the Special Officer to investigate all matters relating to the safeguards provided for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes under this Constitution and report to the President upon the working of those safeguards at such intervals as the President may direct, and the President shall cause all such reports to be laid before each House of Parliament.
(3) In this article, references to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes shall be construed as including references to such other backward classes as the President may, on receipt of the report of a Commission appointed under clause (1) of article 340, by order specify and also to the Anglo-Indian community.
SUMMARY
Draft Article 338 was taken up for discussion on 26 August 1949 and 14 October 1949. This Draft Article empowered the President and Governor to appoint a special officer for minorities at the Union and State level. These officers would deal with constitutional safeguards provided for minorities. A report would be prepared on the implementation of the safeguards and submitted to the President or Governor respectively. These reports would then be submitted before Parliament and State legislatures.
The Drafting Committee Chairman proposed to have only one minorities officer at the Union level. He believed that since minorities groups covered under the safeguards had been reduced, there was no need for a complex enforcement mechanism.
It was urged by some Members that the Draft Article be discussed at a later stage when there is clarity on which minorities are given protection in the Constitution. The President felt that this Draft Article covers all minorities and therefore is not subject to the Assembly’s decision on who are considered minorities. However, to prevent repetition of discussion on this issue, he postponed the debate on Draft Article 299.
Since the beneficiaries of protections under the Constitution had been finalised, Draft Article 299 was taken up for discussion again on 14 October 1949. This time, the Drafting Committee proposed to replace the provision for appointing a special officer for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities to analyse the implementation of the constitutional safeguards for the community. It also covered other backward classes that the President may include and Anglo-Indians.
Two Members were concerned that the Draft Article does not mention what action Parliament should take based on the report. They wanted an explicit provision to empower Parliament to take action based on the President’s submission. However, it was clarified that Parliament has the general power to take action based on submissions made before it.
A member opposed the inclusion of backward classes in the Draft Article. He believed it was a vague term and would impose difficulties on the President to identify such communities. The Assembly did not address this objection.
A Member from a minority committee proposed to revert to the provision as mentioned in the Draft Article – a special officer to be appointed at the Union and State level for implementing safeguards for minorities. A Member responded that having officers at different levels would be complicated and that it was agreed by the Assembly that special safeguards will be given only to SC/ST communities.
The Assembly accepted the Drafting Committee’s amendment and rejected the others.
Draft Article 299 (as amended) was adopted on 14 October 1949.
Article 338 was amended in 2003 to set-up a national commission instead of a special officer for Scheduled Castes. In 2018, Article 338 was amended again, to remove backward classes from its ambit.