Vol. 13 · pages 876–880

843DRAFT CONSTITUTION Shri Jaspat Roy Kapoor : In the place of this I accept the suggestion made by Dr. Ambedkar to have nearly ‘as may be one-half’. Mr. President : Then I shall put that to vote. The question is : “That in amendment No. 3 above, in the proviso to clause (1) of the proposed article 285, for the words ‘at least one-half’ the words ‘as nearly as may be onehalf’ be substituted.” [The amendment was adopted. Article 285, as amended, was added to the Constitution.] ***** ARTICLES 286 TO 288-A *Mr. President : We shall now proceed with the consideration of article 286 and the subsequent articles. The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar (Bombay : General): Sir, May I, with your permission, move amendments Nos. 12, 16, 17 and 19 together ? They all relate to the same subject. There may be a common debate and then you might put each amendment separately. Mr. President : Yes, I agree. The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : Sir, I move : “That for article 286, the following article be substituted :— 286 (1) It shall be the duty of the Union and the State Public Service Commissions to conduct examinations for appointments to the services of the Union und the services of the State respectively. (2) It shall also be the duty of the Union Public Service Commission, if requested by any two or more States so to do, to assist those Stales in framing and operating schemes of joint recruitment for any services for which candidates possessing special qualifications are required. (3) The Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission, as the case may be, shall be consulted— (a) on all matters relating to methods of recruitment to civil services and for civil posts ; (b) on the principles to be followed in making appointments to civil services and posts and in making promotions and transfers from one service to another and on the suitability of candidates for such appointment, promotions or transfers; (c) on all disciplinary matters affecting a person serving under the Government of India or the Government of a State in a civil capacity, including memorials or petitions relating to such matters; (d) on any claim by or in respect of a person who is serving or has served under the Government of India or the Government of a State or under the Crown, in a civil capacity, that any costs incurred by him in defending legal proceedings instituted against him in respect of acts done or purporting to be done in the execution of his duty should be *CAD, Vol. IX, 23nd August 1949, pp. 597-598. Functions of Public Service Commission

844 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES paid out of the Consolidated Fund of India or, as the case may be, of the State; (e) on any claim for the award of a pension in respect of injuries sustained by a person while serving under the Government of India or the Government of a State or under the Crown in a civil capacity, and any question as to the amount of any such award, and it shall be the duty of a Public Service Commission to advise on any matter so referred to them and on any other matter which the President or, as the case may be, the Governor or Ruler of the State may refer to them : Provided that the President as respects the All India Services and also as respects other services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union, and the Governor or Ruler, as the case may be, as respects other services and posts in connection with the affairs of a State, may make regulations specifying the matters in which either generally, or in any particular class of case or in any particular circumstances, it shall not be necessary for a Public Service Commission to be consulted. (4) Nothing in clause (3) of this article shall require a Public Service Commission to be consulted as respects the manner in which appointments and posts are to be reserved in favour of any backward class citizens in the Union or a State. (5) All regulations made under the proviso to clause (3) of this article by the President or the Governor or Ruler of a State shall be laid for non less than fourteen days before each House of Parliament or the Houses or each House of the Legislature of the State, as the case may be, as soon as possible after they are made, and shall be subject to such modifications, whether by way of repeal or amendment, as both Houses of Parliament or the House or both Houses of the Legislature of the State may make during the session in which they are so laid.” “That for article 287, the following be substituted :— 287. An Act made by Parliament or. as the case may be, the Legislature of a State may provide for the exercise of additional functions by the Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission as respects the services of the Union or the State and also of any local authority or other body corporate constituted by law or public institution.” “That for article 288, the following be substituted :— 288. The expenses of the Union or a State Public service Commission, including any salaries, allowances and pensions payable to or in respect of the members or staff of the Commission, shall be charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or, as the case may be, the State.” “That for amendment No. 3075 of the List of Amendments the following be substituted :— “That after article 288, the following new article be added :— 288-A. (1) It shall be the duty of the Union Commission to present annually to the President a report as to the work done by the Commission and on receipt of such report the President shall cause a copy thereof together with a memorandum explaining, as respects the cases, if any, where the advice of the Commission was not accepted, die reasons for such non-acceptance to be laid before each House of Parliament. Power to extend functions of Public Service Commission Expenses of Public service Commissions Reports of the Public Service Commissions

845DRAFT CONSTITUTION (2) It shall be the duty of a State Commission to present annually to the Governor or Ruler of the State a report as to the work done by the Commission, and it shall be the duty of a Joint Commission to present annually to the Governor or Ruler or each of the States the needs of which are served by the Joint Commission a report as to the work done by the Commission in relation to that State, and in either case the Governor or Ruler, as the case may be, shall, on receipt of such report, cause a copy thereof together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases, if any, where the advice of the Commission was not accepted, the reasons for such non-acceptance to be laid before the Legislature of the State.” The articles are self-explanatory and I do not think that at this stage it is necessary for me to make any comments to bring out any of the points, because the points are all very plain. I would therefore reserve my remarks towards the end when after the debate probably it may be necessary for me to offer some explanation of some of the points raised. Sir, I move. ***** *Mr. President : Dr. Ambedkar. The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : Mr. President, Sir, after the speeches that have been made by my Friend Mr. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar and my Friend Mr. Kunzru, there is very little that is left for me to say in reply to the various points that have been made. Mr. Jaspat Roy Kapoor said that clause (2) was unnecessary. I do not agree with him because clause (2) deals with a matter which is quite different from the one dealt with in the original article 284.1 think it is necessary, therefore, to retain both the clauses. The only point that remains for me to say anything about is the question that is raised about the Scheduled Castes and the Backward Classes. I think I might say that enough provision has been made, both in article 296 which we have to consider at a later stage and in article 10, for safeguarding the interests of what are called the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the Backward Classes. I do not think that any purpose will be served by making a provision whereby it would be obligatory upon the President to appoint a member of what might be called either a Scheduled Caste, or Scheduled Tribe or a member belonging to the backward classes. Shri A. V. Thakkar (Saurashtra) : Other backward classes. The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : The function of a member of the Public Service Commission is a general one. He cannot be there to protect the interests of any particular class. He shall have to apply his mind to the general question of finding out who is the best and the most *CAD, Vol. IX, 23nd August 1949, pp. 629-630.

846 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES efficient candidate for an appointment. The real protection, the real method of protection is one that has been adopted, namely, to permit the Legislature to fix a certain quota to be tilled by these classes. I am also asked to define what are backward classes. Well, I think the words “backward classes” so far as this country is concerned is almost elementary. I do not think that I can use a simpler word than the word “Backward Classes”. Everybody in the province knows who are the backward classes, and I think it is, therefore, better to leave the matter as has been done in this Constitution, to the Commission which is to be appointed which will investigate into the conditions of the state of society, and to ascertain which are to be regarded as backward classes in this country. Shri A. V. Thakkar : May I ask whether it will not take several years before that is done ? The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : Yes, but in the meantime, there is no prohibition on any provincial government to make provisions for what are called the backward classes. They are left quite free, by article 10. Therefore, my submission is that there is no fear that the interests of the backward classes or the Scheduled Castes will be overlooked in the recruitment to the services. As my Friend Pandit Kunzru has said, the articles I have presented to the House are certainly a very great improvement upon what the articles were before in the Draft Constitution. We have, if 1 may say so for myself, studied a great deal the provisions in the Canadian law and the provisions in the Australian law, and we have succeeded, if I may say so, in finding out a via media which I hope the House will not find any difficulty in accepting. [Article 286, as proposed by Dr. Ambedkar not adopted and added to the Constitution.] ARTICLE 292 *The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : I move that for article 292, the following be substituted : “292 (1) Seats shall be reserved in the House of the People for— (a) the Scheduled Castes; (b) the scheduled tribes except the scheduled tribes in the tribal areas of Assam; (c) the scheduled tribes in the autonomous districts of Assam. (2) The number of seats reserved in any State for the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes under clause (1) of this article shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total number of seats allotted to that state in the House of the Reservation of seats for Scheduled castes and Scheduled Tribes in the House of the people *CAD, Vol. IX, 23nd August 1949, p. 633.

847DRAFT CONSTITUTION People as the population of the Scheduled Castes in that State or of the Scheduled Tribes in that State or part of that State as the case may be, in respect of which scats are so reserved bears to the total population of that State.” This article 292 is an exact reproduction of the decisions of the Advisory Committee in this matter and I do not think any explanation is necessary. Mr. President : This represents the decision which was taken at another session of this House when we considered the Advisory Committee’s report. This puts in form the decision then taken.... ***** *The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar (Bombay : General) : I was going to suggest, with regard to the amendment which stands in the name of Rev. Nichols Roy, that this is more relevant to the interpretation clause where the Scheduled Castes and the tribal people will be defined. If my friend is keen on moving this amendment, I think it should properly stand over until we come to that part of the Constitution—article 303. Mr. President : Have you followed Dr. Ambedkar ? The Honourable Rev. J. J. M. Nichols-Roy (Assam : General) : Yes, I have. My amendment was based on the amendment which was going to be moved by Mr. Thakkar, No. 3108, and I now find that the amendment (No. 28) which he is now going to move is in a different form. However, if Mr. Thakkar is not going to move this amendment, I also will not move my amendment now. But I reserve the right that I shall move my amendment at the time when this matter will be discussed under article 303. The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : I also suggest that the amendments which stand in the name of Mr. Thakkar should stand over and be taken at the same time when we are dealing with article 303. The Honourable Rev. J. J. M. Nichols-Roy : If Mr. Thakkar agrees. I will agree. Shri A. V. Thakkar (Saurashtra) : I completely agree. ***** †Sardar Bhopinder Singh Man (East Punjab : Sikh) : As a number of amendments have been moved, it seems to me that some time be given to oppose those amendments. Mr. President : As I said we have discussed this very proposition for two full days in this House, and every section of the House had full *CAD, Vol. IX, 24nd August 1949, pp.643-644. †Ibid., pp. 657-658: