The UTTAR PRADESH COMMISSION FOR THE SCHEDULED CASTES AND SCHEDULED TRIBES ACT, 1995

 
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 THE UTTAR PRADESH COMMISSION FOR THE SCHEDULED 
CASTES AND SCHEDULED TRIBES ACT, 19951 
[U. P. Act No. 16 of 1995] 
 Amended by  
U. P. Act no. 1 of 1998 
U. P. Act no. 29 of 2001 
U. P. Act no. 4 of 2002 
U. P. Act no. 41 of 2007 
U.P. Act No. 26 of 2024 
 [As passed by the Uttar Pradesh Legislature, assented to by the 
Governor on August 7, 1995 and published in U.P. Gazette 
extraordinary on August 11, 1995.] 
  
 
AN 
ACT 
to establish a Commission for the Scheduled Castes and 
Scheduled Tribes and for the matters connected therewith and incidental 
thereto. 
 IT IS hereby enacted in the Forth -sixth Y ear of the Republic of 
India as follows :—  
CHAPTER–1 
Preliminary 
Short title 
extent and 
comencement 
1. (1) This Act may be called the Uttar Pradesh C ommission for 
the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act, 1995. 
(2) It extends to the whole of Uttar Pradesh. 
(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on August 8, 
1994.  
Definitions 2.   In this Act—- 
(a) “Commission” means  the commission constituted 
under section 3 ; 
(b) “Member” me ans a Member of the Commission and 
includes the Chairman and the Vice -Chairman of the 
Commission. 
 CHAPTER–II 
The Uttar Pradesh Commission for the Scheduled Castes and 
Scheduled Tribes  
Constitution 
of the 
Commission  
3. (1) The  State Government shall co nstitute a body to be 
known as the Uttar Pradesh Commission for Scheduled Castes and 
Scheduled Tribes to exercise the powers conferred on, and to perform 
the functions assigned to, it under this Act.  
Composition 
of the 
Commission  
4. 2[(1) The Commission  shall consist of the following members 
appointed by the State Government :— 
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1. For SOR see at the end of this Act. 
2. Sub. by sec. 2 of U. P. Act No. 41 of 2007. 

[The Uttar Pradesh Commission For the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes At, 1995]  
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 (a) a Chairman ; 
(b) two Vice-Chairman 
(c) seventeen other members.]1  
 (2) The Member shall be appointed from amongst persons of 
ability, integrity and standing who have had a record of selfless service 
to the cause of justice for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.  
(3) The appointments under sub -section (1) shall be made by a 
notified order.  
Term of 
office and 
conditions of 
service of 
Member  
5. 2 [(1) (a) The tenure of the Chairman, Vice -Chairman or 
member, shall be one year from the date of his assuming office. 
(b) The Chairman, Vice -Chairman or member shall hold his 
office during the pleasure of the State Government. 
(c) The Chairman shal l not be eligible for reappointment as a 
member]. 
 3[(1-A) The provisions of s ub-section (1) as amended by the 
Uttar Pradesh Commission for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled 
Tribes (Amendment) Act, 2001 shall apply also to the Chairman, Vice -
Chairman and every other Member holding office immediately before 
the commencement of the said Act.  
 (1-B) The Chairman, Vice -Chairman or other Member, who has 
attained the age of sixty -five years, on or before the commencement of 
the Act referred to in sub -section (1 -A), shall cease to hold office as 
such on such commencement.] 
 (2) A Member  may, at any time by writing under his hand, 
addressed to the State Government, resign from his office.  
(3) The State Government shall remove a person from the officer 
of Member if that person — 
(a) becomes an undischarged insolvent ;  
 (b) is convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for an 
offence which, in the opinion of the State Government involves 
moral turpitude ; 
(c) becomes of unsound mind and stands so declared by a 
competent court ; 
(d) refuses to act or becomes incapable of acting ;  
 (e) is, w ithout obtaining leave of absence from the 
Commission absent from three consecutive meetings of the 
Commission ; or  
(f) has, in the opinion of the State Government so abused 
the position of Chairman or Member as to render that person’s 
continuance in offi ce detrimental to the interests of the 
Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes or the public interest ; 
 
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1. Sub. by sec. 2 of U.P. Act No. 41, 2007. 
2. Sub. by sec. 2 of U. P. Act No. 26 of 2024. 
3. Ins. by sec. 2 by of U.P. Act No. 29, 2001. 

  
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  Provided that no person shall be removed under this clause 
until he 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 appointment.  
(5) The salaries and allowances payable to, and other terms 
and conditions of service of, the Members shall be such as may be 
prescribed.  
 
Officers and 
other employees 
of the 
Commission  
6. (1) The State Government shall provide the  Commission 
with a Secretary and such other officers and employees as may be 
necessary for the efficient performance of the functions of the 
Commission.  
 (2) The salaries and allowances payable, to, and other terms 
and conditions of service of the office rs and other employees 
appointed for the purpose of the Commission shall be such as may 
be prescribed.   
Salaries and 
allowances to be  
paid out of 
grants  
7. The salaries and allowances payable to the Members and 
the administrative expenses, including sa laries, allowances and 
pensions payable to the officers and other employees referred to in 
section 6, shall be paid out of the grants referred to in sub -section 
(1) of section 13. 
Vacancies etc. 
not to invalidate 
proceedings of 
the Commission  
8. No act o r proceeding of the Commission shall be invalid 
on the ground merely of the existence of any vacancy of defect in 
the constitution of the Commission.  
Procedure to be 
regulated by the 
Commission 
9. (1) The Commission shall meet as and when necessary at 
such time and place as the Chairman may think fit.  
(2) The Commission shall regulate its own procedure.  
 (3) If the office of the Chairman becomes vacant or if the 
Chairman is for any reason absent or unable to discharge the 
duties of his office, those du ties shall, until the new Chairman 
assumes office or the existing Chairman resumes his office, as the 
case may be, be discharged by the Vice-Chairman.   
 (4) If the offices of both Chairman and Vice -Chairman 
become vacant the duties of the office of Chair man shall be 
discharged by such Member as the State Government may, be 
order; direct.  
(5) All orders and decisions of the Commission shall be 
authenticated by the Secretary or any other officer of the 
Commission duly authorized by the Secretary in this behalf.  
State 
Government to 
consult 
Commission 
10. The State Government shall consult the Commission on 
all major policy matters affecting Scheduled Castes and Scheduled 
Tribes.  
 CHAPTER — III 
Functions and Powers of the Commission 
Duties and 
functions of the 
Commission  
11. (1) It shall be the duty of the Commission — 
(a) to investigate and monitor all matters relating to the 
safeguards provided for the Scheduled Castes and 
Scheduled Tribes under the Constitution or under any other 
law for the time bein g in force or under any order of the 
State Government and to evaluate the working of such 
safeguards ; 
  
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 (b) to enquire into specific complaints with respect to 
the deprivation of rights and safeguards of the Scheduled 
Castes and Scheduled Tribes ; 
 (c) to participate and advice on the planning process of 
socio-economic development of the Scheduled Castes and 
Scheduled Tribes and to evaluate th e progress of th eir 
development;  
(d) to present to the State Government 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 State Government for 
the effective implementation of those safeguards and other 
measures for the protection, welfare and socio -economics 
development of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes ; 
and    
 (f) to discharge such other functions in rela tion to the 
protection, welfare, development and advancement of the 
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as may be referred 
to it by the State Government.   
  (2) The State Government shall cause the reports of the 
Commission to be laid before each House  of the State Legislature 
along with a memorandum explaining the action taken or proposed 
to be taken on the recommendations and the reasons for the non -
acceptance, if any, of any of such recommendations. 
Powers of the 
Commission 
12. The Commission shall,  while investigating any matter 
referred to in clause (a) or inquiring into any complaint referred to 
in clause (b) of sub -section (1) of Section 11, 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 attendance of any person 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 commission for the examination of witness and 
documents ; and  
(f) any other matter that may be prescribed.   
 1[ Provided that no person who is holding the office of the 
Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary of 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) unless prior approval 
of the State Government has been obtained and such pe rson 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  
——————————————————————————————————————————  
1. Ins. by sec. 2 of U. P. Act No. 1 of 1998. 

  
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 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 conc erned 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. ]1 
  CHAPTER — IV 
Finance, Accounts and Audit 
Grants by the 
State 
Government  
13. (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 money as the State 
Government may think fit for being utilized for the purposes of this Act.  
 (2) The Commission may spend such sums as it thinks fit for 
performing the functions under this Ordinance, and such sums shall 
be treated as expenditure payable  out of the grants referred to in sub -
section (1).   
Account and 
audit  
 14. (1) The Commission shall maintain proper accounts and 
other relevant records and prepare an annual statement of accounts in 
such form as may be prescribed.  
(2) A copy of the ann ual statement of accounts shall be 
forwarded to the State Government which shall cause it to be audited.  
Annual 
Report  
15. The Commission shall prepare, in such form and at such 
time, for each financial year, as  may be prescribed, its annual report, 
giving a full account of its activities during the previous financial year 
and forward a copy thereof to the State Government.  
Annual 
report and 
audit report 
to be laid 
before the 
State 
Legislature 
16. The State Government shall cause the annual report, 
together with a memorandum of action taken on the advice tendered 
by the Commission and the reason for the non -acceptance, if any, of 
such advice, and the audit report to be laid, as soon as may be, after 
they are received, before each House of the State Legislature.   
 CHAPTER–V 
Miscellaneous 
Chairman, 
Members and 
employees of 
the 
Commission 
to be public 
servant  
17. The 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 ;  
Penalty  18. Whoever being legally bound to obey any order of the 
Commission under Section 12, intentionally omits to do so, shall on 
conviction be punished under Sections 174, 175, 176, 178, 179 or 180 
of Indian Penal Code, as the case may be.  
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1. Ins. by s. 2 of U.P. Act No. 1, 1998. 

  
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Cognizance 
of offences   
19. No court shall take cognizance of an offence specified in 
Section 18 except on a complaint in writing of the Chairman or a 
Member or of an officer authorized by the Commission in this behalf.   
Protection of 
action taken 
in good faith 
20. No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie 
against any person for anything which is in good faith done or 
intended to be done, in pursuance of the provisions of this (Ordinance) 
Act or the rules made thereunder. 
Power of the 
State 
Government 
to issue 
directions  
 1[20-A. The State Government may issue such directions to 
the Commission as may be considered necessary or proper for c arrying 
out the purposes of the Act and the Commission shall be bound to 
comply with such directions.]  
Power to 
make rules  
21. (1) The State Government may, by notification, make rules 
for carrying out the purposes of this (Ordinance) Act. 
(2) In partic ular and without prejudice to the generality of the 
foregoing powers, such rules may provide for all or any of the following 
matters, namely :— 
 (a) salaries and allowances payable to, and the other terms 
and conditions of service of, the Members under su b-section (5) 
of Section 5 and the officers and other employees under sub -
section (3) of Section 6; 
(b) any other matter under clause (f) of Section 12 ; 
 (c) the form in which the annual statement of accounts 
shall be prepared under sub-section (1) of Section 14 ; 
(d) the form in which and the time at which the annual 
report shall be prepared under Section 15 ; 
(e) any other matter which is required to be, or may be 
prescribed.  
Power to 
remove 
difficulties  
22. (1) If any difficulty arises in giving eff ect to the provisions of 
this Act the State Government may, by a notified order, make such 
provisions not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act as appears 
to it to be necessary or expedient for removing the difficulty.  
(2) No order under sub -section (1) shall be made after the 
expiry of a period of two years from the date of commencement of this 
Act.  
 (3) Every order made under sub -section (1) shall, as soon as 
may be after it is made, be laid before both Houses of the State 
Legislature and , the provisions of sub -section (1) of section 23 -A of 
Uttar Pradesh General Clauses Act, 1904 shall apply as they apply in 
respect of rules made by the State Government under any Uttar 
Pradesh Act.  
Repeal and 
saving  
23. (1) The Uttar Pradesh Commission for th e Scheduled 
Castes and Scheduled Tribes Ordinance, 1995 is hereby repealed.  
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1. Ins. by sec. 3  of U. P. Act No. 1 of 1998. 

  
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 (2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any section 
taken under the provisions of the Ordinance referred to in sub -section 
(1) or of the Uttar Pradesh Commission for the Scheduled Castes and 
Scheduled Tribes Ordinance, 1994 or the Uttar Pradesh Commission 
for the Scheduled Castes and Schedule d Tribes (Second) Ordinance, 
1994 shall be deemed to have been done or taken under the provisions 
of this Act as if the provisions of this Ordinance were in force at all 
material times.    
                                                                                                             
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STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS 
The Commissioner, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, was appointed by 
an executive order of the State Government to safeguard the interests of the Scheduled 
Castes and Sch eduled Tribes in the State but for want of legal status, the 
Commissioner could not function effectively. It was, therefore, decided to enact a law to 
provide for the establishment of a Commission for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled 
Tribes in the State,  on the pattern of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes 
and Scheduled Tribes. The functions of the Commission, inter alia are to investigate all 
matters relating to the safeguards provided for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled 
Tribes under the con stitutions or under any other law or under any order of the State 
Government and to make recommendations to the State Government for the effective 
implementation of those safeguards and other measures for the proportion welfare and 
socio-economic development of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. 
Since the State Legislature was not in session and immediate legislative action 
to implement the aforesaid decision was necessary, the Uttar Pradesh Commission for 
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Ordin ance, 1994 (U.P. Ordinance no. 14 of 
1994) was promulgated by the Governor on August 8, 1994. 
This Bill is introduced accordingly to replace the aforesaid Ordinance. 
 
 

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