Madras High Court: In a petition filed for directing the Secretary of the President of India to dissolve the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (‘NCSC’), the division bench of Sanjay V. Gangapurwala, C.J. and D. Bharatha Chakravarthy, J. while dismissing the petition, said that if a person is aggrieved by any of the actions of the Commission, then, that action may be challenged. However, a blanket prayer for dissolving the Commission would not be in the interest of the members of the Scheduled Caste community.
The petitioner submitted that though the NCSC is constituted under Article 338 of the Constitution of India, it is not performing its duties in accordance with the said Article. It functions in a biased manner and is politically driven. The Commission is not functioning for the benefit of the Scheduled Caste people. It is not maintaining the dignity of the said people.
The Court said that NCSC is a Constitutional body and functionary. It is constituted with an avowed object for the benefit of the Scheduled Caste people. The Commission is bestowed with a wide range of duties as enumerated in Article 338(5) of the Constitution of India and the Commission has to perform the same.
The Court said that if a person is aggrieved by any of the actions of the Commission, then, that action may be challenged. However, a blanket prayer for dissolving the Commission would not be in the interest of the members of the Scheduled Caste community.
[Madurai Mavatta Devendra Kula Velalar v The Secretary, 2024 SCC OnLine Mad 161, Order dated 08-01-2024]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
For the Petitioner: Advocate Rajapandi
For the Respondents: Advocate V. Chandrasekar
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