On persistent demand from the Members of Parliament and other quarters that the Office of the Commissioner for SCs & STs alone was not enough to monitor the implementation of Constitutional safeguards, a proposal was moved for amendment of Article 338 of the Constitution for replacing the arrangement of one Member system with a multi-member system. While the amendment to Article 338 was still under consideration, the Government decided to set up a multi-member Commission through an administrative decision vide Ministry of Home Affairs Resolution No. 13013/9/77-SCT(1) dated 21.7.1978. The first Commission for SCs & STs was set up in August, 1978 with Shri Bhola Paswan Shastri as Chairman and other four Members. The field offices of the erstwhile Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes which were transferred under the control of DG Backward Classes Welfare in 1967 were brought back under the control of the Commission.
The National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was conferred Constitutional status consequent upon passing of the Constitution (Sixty- fifth Amendment) Act, 1990 which was notified on 8-6-1990 (ANNEXURE-I) and the Rules relating to appointment of Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Members of NCSCST and condition of their service were notified on 3-11-1990. The first statutory Commission under the Constitution (Sixty-fifth Amendment) Act was constituted on 12-3-1992 and from the same date the Office of Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was abolished. Article 338 as amended by the Constitution (Sixty-fifth Amendment) Act, 1990, inter-alia, provided that the Commission would consist of a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and five other Members and that their conditions of service and tenure of Office will be such as the President may, by rule, determine. The Act further provided that the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and other Members of the Commission shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal and that the Commission will have the power to regulate its own procedure.
The first National Commission for SCs & STs (constitutional) constituted on 12/03/1992 consisted of Shri Ram Dhan as the Chairman, Shri Bandi Oraon as the Vice-Chairman and Shri B. Sammaiah, Dr. Sarojini Mahist Choudhary Hari Singh, Shri N. Brahma and Shri Jina Bhai Darjee as Members.
The second National Commission for SCs & STs was constituted on 5-10-1995 with Shri H. Hanumanthappa Chairman and Smt. Omem Moyong Deori as Vice-Chairperson. Other Members of the Commission were S N.C. Chaturvedi, Shri Anand Mohan Biswas, Ven. Lama Lobzang, Shri Nar Singh Baitha and Shri B. Yadalah
The third National Commission for SCs & STs was constituted in December, 1998 vide Ministry of Social Just a and Empowerment's Notification No.5035(E) dated 27 January, 1999 consisting of Shri Dileep Singh Bhuria s the Chairman, Shri Kameshwar Paswan as the Vice-Chairman and Shri Harinder Singh Khalsa, Ven. Lana Lobzang, Shri Chhotray Majhi and Shri M. Kannan as Members. Smt. Veena Nayyar, was also appointed a a Member vide Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment's Notification No. S.O. 529 (E) dated 30 June, 1999. On the resignation of Shri M. Kannan, Shri C. Chellappan was appointed as Member vide Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment's Notification No. S.O. 722 (E) dated 3-7-2000.
The fourth National Commission for SCs & STs was constituted in March, 2002 vide Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment's Notification No. S.O. 351 (E) dated 21-3-2002 consisting of Dr. Bijay Sonkar Shastri as the Chairperson, Ven. Lama Chosphel Zotpa, Vice-Chairperson and Shri Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Shri Narayan Singh Kesari and Shri Tapir Gao as Members. Smt. Veena Premkumar Sharma also assumed office on 23-8-2002 as Member. Shri C. Chellappan completed his tenure as Member on 2 July, 2003. Shri Sampath Kumar assumed office on 30-9-2003 in place of Sh. C. Chellappan.
Article 338 of the Constitution was again amended and a new Article 338A was inserted in the Constitution vide the Constitution (Eighty-Ninth Amendment) Act, 2003 (ANNEXURE-II) which came into force on 19-2-2004 vide Notification of the same date (ANNEXURE-III). Consequent upon amendment of Article 338 the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was replaced by two separate Commissions viz National Commission for Scheduled Castes and National Commission for Scheduled Tribes respectively. The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has been created by inserting the new Article 338A in the Constitution of India. Article 338A, inter-alia, enjoins upon the NCST to monitor all matters relating to the safeguards provided for the Scheduled Tribes under the Constitution or under any other law or under any order of the Government, and to participate and advise on the planning process of socio-economic development of the Scheduled Tribes, and to evaluate the progress of their development under the Union and any State, and to present to the President, annually and at such other times as the Commission may deem fit, reports upon the working of those safeguards.
The conditions of service and tenure of office of the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and other Members of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes are governed by the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes. Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and Members (Conditions of Service and Tenure) Rules notified by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs on 20 February 2004. These Rules, inter alia, provide that: