A constitutional body under Article 338: the National Commission for Scheduled Castes

Background

The National Commission for Scheduled Castes describes itself as a constitutional body established under Article 338 of the Constitution of India. Its stated object is to safeguard the rights and interests of the Scheduled Castes and the Anglo-Indian community. Its functions, duties and powers are laid down in clauses 4, 5, 8, 9 and 10 of Article 338. It investigates and monitors all matters relating to the safeguards provided for the Scheduled Castes under the Constitution, under any other law in force or under any order of the Government, and evaluates how those safeguards work. It presents reports on the working of those safeguards to the President, annually and at such other times as it thinks fit, and makes recommendations on the measures the Union or a State should take. Clause 10 of Article 338 says that references in the Article to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes shall be construed as including references to other backward classes that the President specifies on receipt of the report of a Commission appointed under clause (1) of Article 340, and also to the Anglo-Indian community. The Commission runs state offices, one of them at Thiruvananthapuram. Its site lists the important Acts it works with, among them the PCR ACT 1955 and the POA Acts 1989.