Constitutional & Statutory Bodies

Sort constitutional bodies by the question 'who guards what'. GUARDS THE PURSE: Comptroller and Auditor General (Article 148) and the Finance Commission (Article 280, constituted every five years to divide taxes between Centre and states). GUARDS THE VOTE: Election Commission (Article 324). GUARDS THE SERVICE: UPSC (Article 315) and each State Public Service Commission — Gujarat Public Service Commission is the one you are sitting for. GUARDS THE GROUPS: National Commissions for SCs (Article 338), STs (338A) and Backward Classes (338B), plus the Attorney General (Article 76) and Advocate General (Article 165) as the government's law officers. The dividing line to keep sharp: constitutional bodies are created by the Constitution itself, while statutory bodies like NHRC, CVC, CIC and Lokpal are created by ordinary law — a favourite trap question.

• Three piles: constitutional, statutory, neither.

  Constitutional — Election Commission, UPSC and State PSCs, Finance Commission, CAG, Attorney General, and the commissions for SCs, STs and backward classes. Statutory — NHRC, CVC, Information Commissions, NCW, Lokpal. Neither — NITI Aayog, which is an executive body created by a cabinet resolution.

• 324 election, 315 service, 280 money, 148 audit.

  Four article numbers, four bodies: Article 324 the Election Commission, 315 the Union and State Public Service Commissions, 280 the Finance Commission, 148 the Comptroller and Auditor General. These four carry most of the marks in this topic.

• 1The Election Commission is established under Article 324 and conducts elections to Parliament, state legislatures, and the offices of President and Vice-President.
• 2State Election Commissions, which conduct panchayat and municipal elections, are separate bodies created by the 73rd and 74th Amendments.
• 3The Comptroller and Auditor General under Article 148 audits the accounts of the Union and the states and reports to the legislature.
• 4The Finance Commission under Article 280 is constituted every five years to recommend the sharing of taxes between the Union and the states.
• 5The National Commission for Backward Classes became a constitutional body through Article 338B, inserted by the 102nd Amendment.
• 6The National Human Rights Commission is a statutory body created by the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.
• 7NITI Aayog is neither constitutional nor statutory; it replaced the Planning Commission by an executive resolution in 2015.

• The Comptroller and Auditor General is appointed under Article 148 for six years or until the age of 65, whichever is earlier, and Dr. Ambedkar called this office the most important under the Constitution.
• The Election Commission under Article 324 became a three-member body permanently from 1993, with the Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners deciding by majority.
• The Finance Commission is constituted by the President under Article 280 every fifth year to recommend the distribution of tax proceeds between the Centre and the states.
• A State Public Service Commission chairman and members are appointed by the Governor but can be removed only by the President; the Gujarat Public Service Commission functions under Article 315.
• NITI Aayog, the National Human Rights Commission and the Central Vigilance Commission are not constitutional bodies — NITI Aayog is an executive body, while NHRC and CVC are statutory.

• The NHRC is statutory, not constitutional. The commissions for SCs, STs and backward classes are constitutional — the pairing catches people out.
• The Election Commission of India does not conduct panchayat or municipal elections; State Election Commissions do.

• Indian Polity by M. Laxmikanth
• NCERT Class XI — Indian Constitution at Work
• Introduction to the Constitution of India by D. D. Basu

• NCERT textbooks (free PDFs)
• Constitution of India (full text)
• Central Information Commission (RTI)
• Gujarat State Portal