Constitutional & Non-Constitutional Bodies

Democracy only works if the umpire is fair. In India that umpire is the Election Commission of India (ECI). The Constitution did not leave it to the government of the day to run elections; it created a separate, permanent body under Part XV (Articles 324 to 329) so that the people who contest elections cannot control the people who conduct them. The ECI was set up on 25 January 1950, and that date is celebrated every year as National Voters' Day.

Article 324 is the heart of the matter. The word to remember is superintendence, direction and control. The Commission supervises the preparation of electoral rolls, but the actual work is done by Electoral Registration Officers; likewise it controls the conduct of elections, but polling staff come from the State governments. The Commission is a constitutional body, not a statutory one.

Beyond running elections, the Commission has several other powers. It recognises political parties as national or State parties and allots election symbols under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. It registers political parties under Section 29A of the RP Act, 1951. It issues the Model Code of Conduct, a set of guidelines that comes into force the moment elections are announced; the Code has no direct statutory force, but the Commission enforces it firmly. It also gives advisory opinions to the President and Governors on whether an MP or MLA should be disqualified (Articles 103 and 192). The Commission does not decide the delimitation of constituencies; that is done by the separate Delimitation Commission, whose orders cannot be challenged in any court.

A government needs honest and capable officers, and it should pick them on merit, not on favours. That is the idea behind the Public Service Commissions. The British introduced the first Public Service Commission in India in 1926, following the Lee Commission (1924); the Government of India Act, 1935 provided for a Federal Public Service Commission and Provincial ones. After Independence, the Federal Public Service Commission became the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on 26 January 1950. The Constitution deals with them in Part XIV, Chapter II (Articles 315 to 323); Part XIV as a whole, titled Services under the Union and the States, covers Articles 308 to 323.

The UPSC is the recruiting body, not the controlling body. It conducts examinations for All-India and Central services and advises on recruitment rules, promotions, transfers on deputation and disciplinary cases. Its advice is only advisory; the government is not bound to accept it. Remember that the Commission is not consulted on reservation of posts for backward classes (Article 16(4)) and on a few other matters.

The Constitution does not fix the number of members; the President decides it for the UPSC, and the Governor for a State PSC. Salaries and expenses of the Commissions are charged on the Consolidated Fund (of India or the State), so Parliament or the Legislature cannot vote on them. After retirement there are restrictions to protect independence (Article 319): the UPSC Chairman cannot take any further job under the Government of India or a State; a UPSC member can become UPSC Chairman or a State PSC Chairman but nothing else; a State PSC Chairman can move to the UPSC or another State PSC, and so on. The UPSC is headquartered at Dholpur House, New Delhi, and presents an annual report to the President, who lays it before Parliament with a memorandum on cases where its advice was not accepted.

Three constitutional offices guard the nation's money and law: the Finance Commission decides how tax money is shared between the Centre and the States, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) checks whether the money was spent properly, and the Attorney General advises the government on law. Think of them as the divider, the auditor and the lawyer.

Finance Commission (Article 280) is a quasi-judicial body. Every five years (or earlier if the President wants) the President appoints a chairman and four other members. Its job: (1) recommend how the net proceeds of taxes are divided between the Union and the States, and among the States; (2) lay down principles for grants-in-aid to States from the Consolidated Fund (Article 275); (3) suggest measures to boost a State's Consolidated Fund so that Panchayats and Municipalities get resources, based on State Finance Commission reports; (4) anything else referred by the President. Its recommendations are advisory; the government lays the report in Parliament with an explanatory note on action taken.

The CAG is called the guardian of the public purse. Dr B. R. Ambedkar said the CAG is probably the most important officer under the Constitution, because he ensures that Parliament's control over money is real. The CAG audits the accounts of the Union and the States, of government companies and corporations (in some cases), and of bodies substantially financed by the government. He does not control the issue of money from the Consolidated Fund (that is in the hands of the executive on Parliament's sanction); he audits after the money has been spent. He is not a member of the Executive and is not responsible to Parliament in the way a minister is. The CAG also certifies the net proceeds of taxes (Article 279). As of 2025 the CAG is K. Sanjay Murthy (took charge in November 2024).

The Attorney General of India (Article 76) is the highest law officer of the country. He must be a person qualified to be appointed a Supreme Court judge (citizen of India, five years as a High Court judge, or ten years as a High Court advocate, or a distinguished jurist in the President's opinion). He advises the Government on legal matters, represents it in the Supreme Court and High Courts, and has the right of audience in all courts in India (Article 76(3)). He has the right to speak and take part in the proceedings of both Houses of Parliament and their joint sitting and committees of which he is named a member, but cannot vote (Article 88). He is not a member of the Cabinet and not a full-time government servant, so he may practise privately, but not against the Government of India. The first Attorney General was M. C. Setalvad. As of 2025 the Attorney General is R. Venkataramani. At the State level, the same role is played by the Advocate General (Article 165), appointed by the Governor; the Solicitor General and Additional Solicitors General assist the Attorney General but are not mentioned in the Constitution.

Some groups need a watchdog that looks after them specially: Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, backward classes, women, minorities, and every citizen's human rights. India has a family of Commissions for this. The first big question is always the same: is the commission constitutional (named in the Constitution, so it cannot be abolished without an amendment) or statutory (created by an Act of Parliament)? Learn that split and half the questions solve themselves.

Articles 338, 338A and 338B follow the same pattern: a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson and three other members, all appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal; the conditions of service and tenure are decided by the President's rules (tenure is three years). Each Commission investigates and monitors the safeguards provided for its group, inquires into specific complaints, advises on planning, and presents an annual report to the President. When inquiring, it has the powers of a civil court. The Commissions for SC and ST do not have a say on 'who is a Scheduled Caste or Tribe'; that list is made by the President under Articles 341 and 342 and changed only by Parliament.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) protects the rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity guaranteed by the Constitution or by international covenants enforceable in India. It is a statutory, not constitutional body. Under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 (amended in 2006 and 2019) it has a Chairperson and five full-time Members: one Member who is or has been a Supreme Court judge, one who is or has been a High Court Chief Justice, and three Members with knowledge of human rights, of whom at least one must be a woman. The Chairperson must be a person who has been the Chief Justice of India or a judge of the Supreme Court (the 2019 amendment widened this). Term: three years or until age 70, whichever is earlier, and re-appointment is allowed. The appointment is made by the President on the recommendation of a six-member committee: the Prime Minister (chair), the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Union Home Minister, the Leaders of Opposition in both Houses, and the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. The NHRC can be removed only by the President on proved misbehaviour or incapacity after a Supreme Court inquiry. It is headquartered in New Delhi, and State Human Rights Commissions (with a former High Court Chief Justice as chair, appointed by the Governor) exist in many States. The NHRC cannot punish; it only recommends. It can inquire into a violation only within one year of the incident. As of 2025 its Chairperson is Justice V. Ramasubramanian (appointed December 2024), who followed Justice Arun Kumar Mishra.

The GST Council (Article 279A) is a constitutional body that recommends the GST rates, exemptions, thresholds and special provisions for some States. The Centre has one-third of the voting weight and the States together have two-thirds; a decision needs three-fourths of the votes cast, so the Centre cannot pass anything alone (it has a veto, because one-third blocks three-fourths) and the States cannot pass anything without the Centre's agreement. The quorum is one-half of the total members. Article 246A gives both Parliament and State Legislatures power to make GST laws.

Not every important institution is named in the Constitution. Some are born from an Act of Parliament (statutory), and some from a mere government resolution (executive or non-statutory). NITI Aayog, the CBI, the CVC, the Lokpal and the Central Information Commission are the ones students confuse the most. Remember the logic: they were created to fight corruption and to bring transparency or planning, and each has its own Act or resolution.

Lokpal investigates corruption complaints against public servants. Its jurisdiction covers the Prime Minister (with safeguards: not for matters of international relations, external and internal security, public order, atomic energy and space; and the full bench of the Lokpal must consider the matter and at least two-thirds of its members must approve an inquiry, held in camera), Ministers, MPs, Group A to D officials and bodies funded by the Centre. The Chairperson is a former Chief Justice of India, former Supreme Court judge, or an eminent person of impeccable integrity; half of the members are judicial, and at least 50 per cent of the Members must come from SC, ST, OBC, minorities and women. The Lokpal has an Inquiry Wing and a Prosecution Wing and can direct the CBI. Lokpal was recommended by the First Administrative Reforms Commission (1966-70); the word comes from Sanskrit and was coined by L. M. Singhvi. The first Chairperson was Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose (March 2019); as of 2025 the Chairperson is Justice A. M. Khanwilkar (since March 2024).

Under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (in force from 12 October 2005), any citizen can ask a public authority for information. The authority must reply within 30 days (48 hours where the matter concerns a person's life or liberty). If the reply is unsatisfactory, the first appeal goes to a senior officer in the same department; the second appeal goes to the Central Information Commission (for Central bodies) or the State Information Commission (for State bodies) within 90 days. The CIC can impose a penalty on the officer for delay or wrongful refusal and can recommend disciplinary action. The CIC is a statutory body, headquartered in New Delhi; the first Chief Information Commissioner was Wajahat Habibullah. Every State has its own Information Commission. Remember: the RTI Act applies to the whole of India (after August 2019 also to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir through the Central Act).

This topic is the exam's favourite shortcut: 'Which of the following is a constitutional body?' or 'Which is NOT statutory?'. The test is simple. Ask: does the body have its own Article in the Constitution? If yes, it is constitutional. If it exists because Parliament passed an Act, it is statutory. If the government created it by a resolution or order, it is non-statutory (executive). Constitutional bodies need a constitutional amendment to be abolished; statutory bodies need only an ordinary law; executive bodies can be closed by a government decision.