The 102nd Amendment Act of 2018 conferred a constitutional status on the Commission. For this purpose, the amendment inserted a new Article 338-B in the constitution. Hence, the Commission ceased to be a statutory body and became a constitutional body.
The scope of functions assigned to the Commission is also enlarged:
- Investigate and monitor all matters relating to the constitutional and other legal safeguards for the socially and educationally backward classes and to evaluate their working.
- Inquire into specific complaints with respect to the deprivation of rights and safeguards of the socially and educationally backward classes.
- Participate and advise on the socio economic development of the socially and educationally backward classes and to evaluate the progress of their development under the Union or a state.
- Present to the President, annually and at such other times as it may deem fit, reports upon the working of those safeguards.
- Make recommendations for the effective implementation of those safeguards and other measures.
The composition should reflect the feature of an expert body as mandated by the SC. And the government must put information in public domain regarding the findings of the caste census and recommendations of commission.