The State Commission for the Scheduled Castes Act, 2018

The State Commission for the Scheduled Castes Act, 2018  
(Jharkhand Act, 19, 2018) 
 An Act to provide for constitution of State Commission for the Scheduled 
Castes to provide for matters connected there with or incidental there to ; 
 Whereas, it is expedient to constitute a Commission for the Scheduled 
Castes and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental there to; 
 Be it enacted by the Jharkhand State Legistature in the sixty eighth year of 
the Republic of India as follows:  
CHAPTER-I 
PRELIMINARY 
 1. Short title and commencement. -(I) This Act  may be called the State 
Commission for Scheduled Castes Act, 2018. 
 (II) It shall come into force with effect from the date of its publication in 
Official Gazattee. 
(III) It extends to the State of Jharkhand only. 
 
 2. Definitions.- In this Act, unless, the context otherwise requires,- 
 (a) "Commission" means "The State Commission for the Scheduled Castes " 
constituted under section 3;  
 (b) "Member" means a member of the Commission and includes the  
Chairman and the Vice Chairman of the Commission; 
 (c) "Scheduled Castes" shall have the meaning assigned in clause (24) of 
Article 366 of the Constitution of India; 
CHAPTER-II 
State Commission for the Scheduled Castes 
 3. Constitution of the Commission f or the Scheduled Castes .- (1) The 
State Government shall, as soon as may be after the commencement of the Act 
constitute a body to be called as the State Commission for the Scheduled Castes 
to exercise the powers and perform the functions assigned to it by  or under this 
Act with its head quarter at Ranchi. 
 (2) The commission shall consist of the following members, namely:- 
 (a) the chairman, who has special knowledge in matter relating to the 
Scheduled Castes, shall be nominated by the State Government; 
 (b) the vice Chairman, who has special knowledge in matter relating to the 
Scheduled Castes, shall be nominated by the State Government; 
 (c) three persons, who have special knowledge in matters relating to the 
Scheduled Castes, shall be nominated by the State Government; 
  4. Term of Office and Conditions of service of the Chairman, Vice 
Chairman and Members.- (1) Subject to the pleasure of the State Government, 
the Chairman, Vice Chairman and every member shall hold office for a term not 
exceeding three years as may be specified by the State Government. 
 (2) The Chairman/Vice chairman or a Member of the Commis sion may, at 
any time by writing under his hand addressed, to the State Government, resign 
his office. 
 (3) The State Government shall remove a person from the office of the 
Chairman or Vice Chairman or a member, if that person,- 
 (a) Becomes an undischarged insolvent; or 
 (b) Has been 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) without obtaining leave of absence from the commission, absents 
himself/herself from three consecutive meetings of the Commission; or 
 (f) has in the opinion of the State Government so abused the position of 
Chairman or Vice Chairman or Member as to render that person's continuance 
in office detrimental to the interest of the Scheduled Caste: 
 Provided that no person shall be removed under this clause unless that 
person has been given an opportunity of being heard in the matter. 
 (4) A vacancy caused under sub -section(2) or otherwise shall be filled by 
fresh nomination. 
 (5) The fixed amount/lumpsum amount and allowances payable to and the 
other terms and conditions of service of the Chairman, Vice Chairman and 
allowance payable to the Members shall be such, as may be prescribed. 
 (5) Staff of the Commission. - (1)  Any Officer not below the rank of 
Deputy Secretary nominated by the Government shall be the ex -officio 
Member-Secretary of the Commission. 
   (2) The Sta te Government shall provide the Commission with such officers 
and employees as may be required for the proper functioning of the 
Commission. 
 (3) The Administrative expenses of the commission including the fixed 
amount/lumpsum amount and allowances payable  to the Chairman/Vice 
Chairman or Members and salary and allowances payable to the Officers and 
employees of the Commission shall be paid out of the grants referred to in 
Section 11. 
 6. Vacancies etc., not to invalidate proceedings of the Commission. -No 
Act or proceedings of the Commission shall be invalid merely on the ground of 
the existence of any vacancy in the office of membership of the commission or 
defect in the Constitution of the Commission. 
 7. Procedure to be regulated by the Commission. -(1) Th e Commission 
shall meet as and when necessary, ordinarily at Ranchi and at such places as the 
Chairman may think fit. 
 (2) The Commission shall have power to regulate its own procedure. 
 (3) All orders and decisions of the Commission shall be authenticated by the 
Member Secretary or any other officer of the Commission duly authorised by 
the Member Secretary in this behalf. 
CHAPTER-III 
FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF THE COMMISSION 
 8. Functions of the Commision.- The functions of the commission shall be 
as follows,- 
 (a) to investigate and examine the working of various safeguards provided 
in the constitution of India or under any other law for the time being in force or 
under any order of the Government for the welfare and protection of the 
Scheduled Castes of Jharkhand and; 
 (b) to enquire into specific complaints with respect to the deprivation of 
rights and safeguard of the Scheduled Caste of Jharkhand and to take up such 
matter with the appropriate authorities; 
 (c) to advise on the planning process of s ocio-economic development of the 
Scheduled Castes to evaluate the progress of their development in the State. 
 (d) to make recommendations as to the measures that should be taken by the 
State for the effective implementation of safeguards and other measures for the 
protection, welfare and socio -economic development of the Scheduled Castes 
and to make report to the State Government annually and at such other time as 
the Commission may deem fit. 
 (e) to discharge such other functions in relation to the  protection, welfare, 
development and advancement of the Scheduled Castes as may be prescribed: 
  Provided that if any matter specified in this section is dealt with by the 
National Commission for Scheduled Castes established under Article 338 of the 
Constitution of India the State Commission for Scheduled Caste shall cease to 
have jurisdiction on such matter. 
 (f) The State government may issue such directions to the commission as 
may be considered necessary or proper for carrying out the purposes of the A ct 
and the commission shall be bound to comply with such directions. 
 9. Laying of Report. - The State Government shall cause such reports 
referred to in clause (d) of Section 8 to be laid before  the State Legislative 
Assembly explaining Action taken or pr oposed to be taken and the reasons, if 
any, for non-acceptance of the recommendations. 
 10. Powers of Commission. - The Commission shall, while inquiring into 
any matter under section 8, have the same powers as vested in  a civil court 
while trying a suit u nder the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 , in respect of the 
following matters, namely:- 
 (a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person from any part of 
the State 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; 
and  
 (f) any other matter which may be prescribed. 
 Provided that no person who is holding the office of the Chief Secretary, 
Principal Secretary or Secretary to the State Government or is Head of the 
Department employed in connection with the affairs of the State Government 
shall be summoned or required to attend in person under clause (a) but he shall 
be deemed to have complied with the summons if he causes a person not below 
the rank of Deputy Secretary or, as the case may be, a person holding a post 
equivalent thereto to attend the Commission in compliance with the summons 
instead of attending in person: 
 Provided further that the summons issued under clause (a) shall clearly 
indicate the purpose for which the person concerned has been summoned and 
when any person is summoned to produce a document without being summoned 
to give evidence, he shall be deemed to have complied with the summons if he 
causes such document to be produced instead of attending personally to produce 
the same. 
CHAPTER - IV 
FINANCE, ACCOUNTS AND AUDIT 
 11. Grants by the State Government. -(1) The State Government shall, 
after due appropriation made by the State Legislature by law in this behalf, pay 
to the Commission by way of grants such sums of moneys as the State 
Government may think fit, for being utilised for the purpose of this Act. 
 (2) The Commission may spend such sums out of the grants as it thinks fit 
for performing the functions under this Act, and such sums shall be treated as 
expenditure payable out of the grants referred to in sub-section(1). 
 12. Accounts and Audit. -(1) Accounts of income and expenditure of the 
Commission shall be kept in accordance with such rules, as may be prescribed. 
 (2) The Commission shall prepare an annual statement of accounts in such 
form as may be prescribed. 
 (3) The accounts of the Commission shall be  audited annually by such 
auditor as the State Government may appoint. 
 (4) The auditor shall, for the purpose of audit, have access to all the 
accounts and other records of the Commission. 
 (5) The Commission shall pay from its grant such charges for the audit, as 
may be prescribed. 
 (6) As soon as may be after the receipt of the report of the auditor, the 
Commission shall send a copy of the annual statement of accounts together with 
a copy of the report of the auditor to the State Government and shall cau se to be 
published the annual  statement of accounts in such manner, as may be 
prescribed. 
 (7) The State Government shall cause the report to be laid, as soon as may 
be after it is received, before the House of the State Legislative Assembly. 
 (8) The Sta te Government may, after persual of the report of the auditor 
give such directions, as it thinks fit to the Commission and the Commission 
shall comply with such directions. 
CHAPTER - V 
MISCELLANEOUS 
 13. Chairman, Vice Chairman, Members and employees of the 
Commission to be public servants. - The Chairman, Vice Chairman, Members 
and employees of the Commission shall be deemed to be public servants within 
the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (Central Act 45 of 1860) 
 14. Power to make rules. -(1) The State Government may after previous 
publication by notification in the official Gazette make rules for the purposes of 
carrying out the provisions of this Act. 
 (2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing  
provisions such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, 
namely:- 
 (a) salary and allowances payable to, and other terms and conditions for 
service of the Chairman/Vice Chairman and allowances payable to Members 
under sub-section (5) of section 4; 
 (b) the form in which the annual statement of accounts shall be prepared 
under sub-section(2) of section 12; 
 (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 State Legislative Assembly while it is in session, for a total period 
of forteen days, which may be comprised in one session or in two or more 
successive sessions. If before the expiry of the session in which it is so laid or 
the session immediately following the aforesaid House agree in making any 
modification in the rule  or House agree that the rule should not be made, the 
rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as 
the case may be, howeve r, any such modification or annulment shall be without 
prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule. 
 15. Power to remove difficulties.- If any difficulty arises in giving effect to 
the provisions of this Act, the State  Government  may by order, published in the 
official Gazette, make such provisions not inconsistent with the provisions of 
this Act as appear to it to be necessary or expedient, for removing the difficulty. 
 Provided that no such order shall be made after the expiry of a period of two 
years from the date of commencement of this Act. 
 (2) Every order made under this section shall, as soon as may be after it is 
made, be laid before the State Legislative Assembly. 
 16. Overriding effect of the Act: - Not-withstanding any-thing contrary in 
any other law and Rules for the time being in force, any order, notification, 
circular, scheme, rule or resolution made or issued, the provisions of this Act 
shall prevail. 
 Provided that any other law or rule for the time being inforce a ny order, 
notification, circular, scheme, resolution made issued or passed prior to this Act, 
so far as it is not inconsistent with this Act, shall continue to be inforce and shall 
be deemed to have been made issued or passed in this Act. 
 17. Repeal and Savings 
(I) All orders/Resolution/Circulars etc related to this, which are inconsistent 
with this Act, shall be deemed to have been repealed to that extent. 
(II) Any thing done or any Action taken under any order/resolution/circular before 
the commencement of this Act shall be deemed to be done or taken under this Act 
as if it were applicable under this Act. 

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