Supreme Court Limits NCSC's Powers: Can't Adjudicate Service Disputes or Issue Binding Orders

The Supreme Court has clarified that the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) cannot adjudicate service disputes or issue binding directions, despite its socially beneficial function. A Division Bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Augustine George Masih ruled that the Legislature has prescribed NCSC's role as "recommendatory and advisory, but certainly not adjudicatory" under Article 338 of the Constitution.

While NCSC has powers to requisition documents and receive evidence, it lacks authority to issue binding orders in service matters. The Court set aside a Bombay High Court judgment that had directed the Mumbai Port Authority to pay salary arrears to a Scheduled Caste employee within 30 days, declaring such direction contrary to the Constitution.

The case involved a Scheduled Caste employee promoted under a 2002 Office Memorandum on consequential seniority. The Supreme Court's ruling establishes that similar constitutional commissions under Articles 338-A and 338-B also operate within these advisory limits, not adjudicatory powers.