These bodies were designed to do what a majority government cannot be trusted to do about itself. Their effectiveness therefore depends almost entirely on two things the Constitution handles unevenly: how members are appointed, and whether findings bind.
This is chapter 27 of the PSIR Optional Notes, from the part on Indian Government and Politics in the Paper I syllabus. The complete book is a free download.
UPSC syllabus
Statutory Institutions/Commissions: Election Commission, Comptroller and Auditor General, Finance Commission, Union Public Service Commission, National Commission for Scheduled Castes, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, National Commission for Women; National Human Rights Commission, National Commission for Minorities, National Backward Classes Commission.
In one page
- The bodies fall into three classes, and the class determines the powers: constitutional (ECI, CAG, Finance Commission, UPSC, NCSC, NCST, NCBC), statutory (NHRC, NCW, NCM), and executive (NITI Aayog, treated in Chapter 29).
- Constitutional status brings security of tenure and removal only by the process applicable to a Supreme Court judge; statutory bodies can be reconstituted by ordinary legislation.
- The CAG is the constitutional auditor under Article 148, called by Ambedkar the most important officer under the Constitution. Its reports go to the Public Accounts Committee.
- The Finance Commission under Article 280 is constituted every five years to recommend the vertical and horizontal distribution of taxes; its recommendations are not binding but are conventionally accepted.
- NCSC and NCST acquired constitutional status through the 65th (1990) and 89th (2003) Amendments, and hold the powers of a civil court in investigating complaints.
- The NCBC became constitutional by the 102nd Amendment (2018), which also inserted Article 342A; the 105th Amendment (2021) restored the states’ power to identify their own backward classes after Jaishri Patil (2021) held it removed.
- The NHRC under the Protection of Human Rights Act 1993 is the most important statutory body and the most constrained: recommendatory powers only, a one-year limitation, and no direct investigation of armed forces complaints.
- The pattern across all of them is the same: powers of inquiry are substantial, powers of enforcement are not, and appointment is executive-dominated.
The financial and service bodies
Comptroller and Auditor General
Appointed by the President under Article 148, with a term of six years or up to age 65, and removable only in the manner and on the grounds applicable to a Supreme Court judge. Salary and conditions cannot be varied to his disadvantage after appointment, and he is ineligible for further office under the Union or a state, which is a deliberate insulation against the prospect of reward.
Duties under Article 149 and the CAG’s (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Act 1971: audit of all expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India and of the states, the Contingency Fund and the Public Account, of government companies and of bodies substantially financed from public revenues. Reports go to the President or Governor and are laid before the legislature, where the Public Accounts Committee examines them.
The evaluation an answer needs. Its strength is that it is the only institution auditing the executive’s use of money with constitutional protection, and reports such as those on the 2G spectrum and coal block allocations in 2010–12 demonstrably shaped politics. Its limits are that it audits after the fact rather than approving in advance, unlike the British Comptroller function its name implies; that its reports are recommendatory and PAC recommendations non-binding; and that presumptive-loss methodology has been criticised as exceeding audit into policy assessment.
Finance Commission
Constituted by the President under Article 280 every fifth year or earlier, with a chairman and four members. Its functions: the distribution of the net proceeds of taxes between the Union and the states and the allocation among states; the principles governing grants-in-aid from the Consolidated Fund; measures to augment state consolidated funds to supplement panchayat and municipal resources, which was added by the 73rd and 74th Amendments; and any other matter referred by the President.
The Fifteenth Finance Commission’s recommendation of a 41 per cent share of the divisible pool for the states, adjusted from 42 per cent after the reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir, is the current benchmark. The live federal grievances are its use of the 2011 population data, which the southern states argue penalises them for successful demographic transition; the growth of cesses and surcharges, which are not shared with the states and so shrink the divisible pool; and the proliferation of centrally sponsored schemes with state matching requirements, which pre-commits state budgets. These belong to Chapter 28 as well and are the substance of fiscal federalism.
Union Public Service Commission
Articles 315 to 323. Members appointed by the President, holding office for six years or to age 65, removable only by the President on the ground of misbehaviour after a Supreme Court inquiry under Article 317, a stronger protection than most bodies enjoy. Expenses are charged on the Consolidated Fund.
Functions: conducting examinations for All India and central services, advising on recruitment methods, promotions and transfers, disciplinary matters, and any matter referred by the President. Its advice is recommendatory, and where the government departs from it the reasons must be laid before Parliament with the annual report, which is the accountability mechanism.
The standard criticisms: the exclusion of the commission from advising on reservations under Article 320(3) proviso; the growth of lateral entry and of contractual appointments outside its process; and the persistence of the argument that a single generalist examination for a highly differentiated set of services is a poor selection instrument.
The equality commissions
| Body | Status | Powers and note |
|---|---|---|
| NCSC | Constitutional, Article 338; separated from the combined SC/ST commission by the 89th Amendment 2003 | Investigates and monitors safeguards, inquires into specific complaints, advises on planning; civil court powers; reports to the President |
| NCST | Constitutional, Article 338A, by the 89th Amendment 2003 | Same functions for Scheduled Tribes; additionally consulted on Fifth and Sixth Schedule matters |
| NCBC | Constitutional, Article 338B, by the 102nd Amendment 2018; previously statutory under the NCBC Act 1993, enacted after Indra Sawhney | Advises on inclusion in and exclusion from the central list; the 105th Amendment 2021 restored the states’ power to maintain their own lists |
| NCW | Statutory, National Commission for Women Act 1990 | Recommendatory; civil court powers for summoning and evidence; no power to enforce; a proposal to give it constitutional status has been pending for years |
The NCBC sequence should be reproducible because it is recent and frequently examined. Indra Sawhney (1992) directed the creation of a permanent body to examine backward-class claims; the NCBC Act 1993 created a statutory commission; the 102nd Amendment (2018) gave it constitutional status and inserted Article 342A on the central list; the Supreme Court in Jaishri Laxmanrao Patil (2021), the Maratha reservation case, held that the amendment had taken away the states’ power to identify their own backward classes; and the 105th Amendment (2021) reversed that reading by making explicit that states retain the power to prepare their own lists.
National Commission for Women
The 2024 paper asked for its structure and functions, so both must be precise.
Structure. Constituted under the National Commission for Women Act 1990: a chairperson committed to the cause of women, five members from among persons of ability, integrity and standing with experience in law, trade unionism, women’s voluntary organisations, administration, economic development, health, education or social welfare, with at least one member each from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and a member-secretary. All are nominated by the central government, with a three-year term.
Functions. Investigate and examine matters relating to the safeguards provided for women; review constitutional and legal provisions and recommend amendments; take up cases of violation; look into complaints and take suo motu notice of deprivation of rights, non-implementation of laws and non-compliance with policy decisions; call for special studies and inquiries; participate in planning for socio-economic development; inspect jails and remand homes where women are detained; and fund litigation involving issues affecting a large body of women.
Assessment. It holds the powers of a civil court for summoning, requiring documents and receiving evidence, but its recommendations are not binding, it cannot enforce, its financial dependence on the central government is complete, and appointments have attracted the criticism of being politically made. Its real influence has come through recommending legislation, and its inputs into the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 and the sexual harassment legislation of 2013 are the usual examples.
The rights commissions
National Human Rights Commission
Established by the Protection of Human Rights Act 1993, so statutory rather than constitutional. Composition after the 2019 amendment: a chairperson who has been Chief Justice of India or a judge of the Supreme Court, a serving or retired Supreme Court judge, a serving or retired High Court Chief Justice, three members with knowledge of human rights of whom at least one shall be a woman, and the chairpersons of the NCSC, NCST, NCW, NCM, NCBC and the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities as deemed members. Term reduced from five years to three, renewable, by the 2019 amendment. Appointment is by the President on the recommendation of a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Speaker, the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the leaders of the opposition in both houses and the Home Minister.
The 2025 question asked how far it has succeeded, and the answer must weigh both sides on specifics.
Achievements. It has registered and disposed of very large numbers of complaints; recommended interim compensation in custodial death and police excess cases, with a requirement that all custodial deaths be reported within 24 hours; issued guidelines on encounter deaths, on arrest, on mental hospitals and on prisons; conducted inquiries into major episodes; and taken suo motu cognisance widely. It has also functioned as a channel to international human rights mechanisms and holds NHRI accreditation.
Limits. Its powers are recommendatory; it cannot compel compliance. Section 19 restricts it to seeking a report from the central government on complaints against the armed forces and it cannot independently investigate them, which excludes precisely the areas where the gravest allegations arise. Section 36(2) bars inquiry into any matter more than one year old. Its own staff is largely deputed from the police, which affects perceived independence. It has no power to grant final relief, only to recommend compensation and prosecution. And the 2019 amendment, while widening eligibility for the chair, shortened tenure, which cuts against independence. Its accreditation was deferred by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions in 2016 and again subsequently, on grounds including police involvement in investigations and lack of transparency in appointments.
National Commission for Minorities
Statutory under the National Commission for Minorities Act 1992: a chairperson, a vice-chairperson and five members, with five of the seven from minority communities, appointed by the central government for three years. Six communities are notified as minorities, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and, since 2014, Jains.
Functions: evaluate the progress of minority development; monitor the working of constitutional and legal safeguards; make recommendations for effective implementation; look into specific complaints; commission studies into discrimination; and report annually. It holds civil court powers for summoning and evidence, and its recommendations are not binding.
The standing questions about it are worth naming: minority status is determined at the national level while the relevant social reality is often state-level, which T.M.A. Pai (2002) and subsequent litigation have raised; and its recommendations, like those of every commission in this chapter, depend entirely on executive willingness.
Where answers lose marks
- Calling the NHRC a constitutional body. It is statutory, under the Protection of Human Rights Act 1993, and that is exactly why its powers are weak.
- Saying the CAG’s reports are binding. They are laid before the legislature and examined by the PAC, whose recommendations are also not binding.
- Giving the NCBC’s status without the sequence: statutory 1993, constitutional by the 102nd Amendment 2018, states’ power restored by the 105th in 2021 after Jaishri Patil.
- Treating Finance Commission recommendations as legally binding. They are not; the convention of acceptance is strong but the cess and surcharge route bypasses the divisible pool entirely.
- Omitting Sections 19 and 36(2) in any NHRC answer. The armed forces exclusion and the one-year limitation are the two constraints examiners expect.
- Presenting NCSC and NCST as one body. They were separated by the 89th Amendment in 2003 into Articles 338 and 338A.
Asked before
- How far has been the National Human Rights Commission successful in achieving its objectives? Comment. (2025, Paper I, 10 marks)
- Explain the structure and functions of the National Commission for Women. (2024, Paper I, 15 marks)
- National Commission for Minorities. (2023, Paper I, 10 marks)
Answer skeleton
How far has been the National Human Rights Commission successful in achieving its objectives? Comment. (10 marks, 150 words)
Frame. Note the status first, because everything follows from it: statutory under the Protection of Human Rights Act 1993, not constitutional.
Objectives. Inquire into violations or negligence in preventing them, intervene in court proceedings, visit custodial institutions, review safeguards, and promote human rights literacy.
Achievements. Large complaint disposal; the 24-hour custodial death reporting requirement; guidelines on encounters, arrest, prisons and mental hospitals; suo motu cognisance; interim compensation recommended and usually paid.
Limits, in order of weight. Recommendatory powers only. Section 19 bars independent investigation of armed forces complaints, excluding the gravest allegations. Section 36(2)’s one-year limitation. Police deputationists as investigators. Executive-dominated appointment, and tenure cut to three years in 2019.
External assessment. Deferral of accreditation by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, on the grounds of police involvement in investigation and opaque appointment.
Conclude. Successful as a documenting and norm-setting body, unsuccessful as an enforcing one, and the failure is by design rather than by performance. Reform means removing Section 19, dropping the limitation period, an independent investigative cadre, and binding recommendations with a duty on government to report compliance.
Last-mile revision
- CAG: Article 148, six years or 65, removal as a Supreme Court judge, ineligible for further office; Article 149 and the 1971 Act; reports to PAC.
- Finance Commission: Article 280, every five years; vertical and horizontal devolution, grants-in-aid, local body augmentation; Fifteenth FC at 41 per cent; cesses and surcharges outside the divisible pool.
- UPSC: Articles 315–323, six years or 65, removal under Article 317 after Supreme Court inquiry; advice recommendatory with reasons for departure laid before Parliament.
- NCSC Article 338, NCST Article 338A (89th Amendment 2003), NCBC Article 338B (102nd Amendment 2018), Article 342A, Jaishri Patil (2021), 105th Amendment (2021).
- NCW: 1990 Act, chairperson plus five members plus member-secretary, three-year term, civil court powers, recommendatory.
- NHRC: 1993 Act; composition after the 2019 amendment; three-year term; six-member appointment committee; Sections 19 and 36(2); GANHRI accreditation deferral.
- NCM: 1992 Act; six notified minorities, Jains added 2014; chairperson, vice-chairperson and five members.
Read the rest. This chapter is one of 58 in the complete PSIR Optional Notes, covering Paper I and Paper II in full — free to download.
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