Constitutional and legislative Measures

National Commission for SC is a constitutional body that monitors the safeguardes provided for SC and also review issues concerning their welfare. Commission has been conferred powers of a civil court truing a suit, to summon and enforce the attendance of any persons and examining on oath, receiving evidence on affidavits.
National Commision for Safai Karmacharis is statutory body that has been empowered to investigate into specific grievances and matters relating to implmentation of programs and schemes for the welfate of Safai Karmcharis.

To abolish the practice of untouchability and curb the high incidence of crimes and atrocities against SCs, efforts are made for implementation of Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955and Scheduled castes & Schedules tribes (Prevention of atrocities) Act, 1989 with the help of 22 special courts under PCR act, 1955 and also 137 special courts under SC&ST(PoA) Act, 1989.

NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR WOMEN:

The National Commission for Women (NCW), which was constituted as a statutory body in 1992 has a wide mandate to safeguard and promote the interests of women. As per Section (10) of the National Commission for Women Act, 1990, the Commission shall perform any function to safeguard and promote the interest of women in the country.

These include, among others,
• Investigation and examination of the safeguards provided for women under the Constitution and other laws and making recommendation to Government on measures for their effective implementation;
• Reviewing the existing provisions of the Constitution and other laws affecting women and recommendation of amendments and remedial legal measures to meet any lacunae, inadequacies or shortcoming in such laws;
• Looking into complaints and taking suo-moto notice of matters relating to deprivation of women’s rights, etc. and taking up the issues with appropriate authorities;
• Calling for special studies or investigations into specific problems or situations arising out of discrimination and atrocities against women, identifying the constraints so as to recommend strategies for their removal;
• Participation and advice in the planning process for socio-economic development of women, evaluation of the progress made thereof;
• Inspection of jails, remand homes etc., where women are kept under custody and seeking remedial action wherever necessary.

The Commission has been given powers of a Civil Court while investigating matters relating to safeguards for women under the Constitution and other laws and deprivation of women’s rights, to the extent of summoning and enforcing attendance of any person from any part of India and examining him on oath, requiring discovery and production of any document, receiving evidence on affidavits, requisitioning of any public record or copy thereof from any court or office, issuing Commissions for examination of witnesses and documents and any other matter which may be prescribed.