What are CONSTITUTIONAL and NON-CONSTITUTIONAL Bodies in India? India is a union of states where, People of different castes, religions, and geographical locations live.
The state has its own unique needs and many needs are met with the help of constitutional and non-constitutional bodies in the country.
In this way, a democratic country like India is administered with the help of constitutional and non-constitutional institutions.
The list of these Constitutional and Non-Constitutional bodies is provided below –
Definition of Constitutional Bodies in India
These are the institutions that are mentioned in the Constitution of India and hence they are considered to be independent and more powerful.
Examples – Election Commission, Finance Commission, UPSC, and National Commission for SC/ST, etc.
The list of constitutional bodies in India is as follows –
- ELECTION COMMISSION (ARTICLE 324)
- UNION PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION (ARTICLE 315 TO 324)
- STATE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION (UNDER ARTICLE 315-323)
- FINANCE COMMISSION (ARTICLE-280)
- NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR SCHEDULED CASTES (ARTICLE 338)
- NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR SCHEDULED TRIBES (ARTICLE 338A)
- CAG OF INDIA (ARTICLE 148)
- ATTORNEY GENERAL OF INDIA (ARTICLE 76)
- ADVOCATE GENERAL OF THE STATE (ARTICLE 165)
- SPECIAL OFFICER FOR LINGUISTIC MINORITIES (ARTICLE 350B)
1. ELECTION COMMISSION (ARTICLE 324)
Article 324 of the Constitution of India provides for the Election Commission, which is the apex body to conduct free and fair elections in India to ensure public participation in the election process.
And the rules, instructions, and powers of the Election Commission have been told about the conduct of elections for the State Legislature.
2. UPSC (ARTICLE 315 TO 323)
Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) – The Union Public Service Commission, established by the Constitution of India, is a constitutional body to conduct examinations for the appointment of Top civil services officers Like – IAS, IPS, IFS, and IRS, etc of the Government of India.
Union Public Service Commission is a constitutional body. It makes appointments under Group ‘A’ and Group ‘D’ in the Central Service. Under jobs like the most prestigious services of the country such as Indian Administrative Service (IAS) service IPS and Indian Revenue Service IRS are available.
The constitution of India does not mention any specific number or strength of the UPSC Members usually, the Union Public Service Commission consists of a chairman and nine to eleven other members.
3. SPSC (ARTICLE 315 to 323)
State Public Service Commission is a constitutional body established by the Constitution of India, which conducts examinations for the appointment of office bearers to the civil service of the various State Governments.
Article 315-323 under Part-14 of the Constitution provides for the constitution of a Federal Public Service Commission and a State Public Service Commission for the States.
4. FINANCE COMMISSION (ARTICLE 280)
The Finance Commission of India was published in 1951. It has been constituted by the President under Article 280 of the Indian Constitution. This commission was done to define the financial relations between the Center and the State.
- Article 280 of the Constitution provides for the constitution of the Finance Commission.
- The President has been given the power to constitute the Finance Commission.
- A chairman and four other members are appointed by the President in the Finance Commission.
- The State Finance Commission is constituted by Article 243 (1) of the Constitution.
5. NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR SCs (ARTICLE 338)
Article 338 of the Constitution provides for the appointment of a Special Officer for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes whose duty is to inquire into all matters relating to the protections given to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes under the Constitution and to inform the President about the implementation of these protections and giving information within the prescribed period.
6. NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR SCHEDULED TRIBES (ARTICLE 338A)
Article 338 of the Constitution provides for the appointment of a Special Officer for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes whose duty is to inquire into all matters relating to the protections given to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes under the Constitution and to inform the President about the implementation of these protections, And giving information within the prescribed period.
7. CAG OF INDIA (ARTICLE 148)
It is an authority established by Chapter II of the Constitution of India to audit all the articles of the Government of India and all the State Governments. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India also audits the companies owned by the government. His report is looked into by the Public Accounts Committees.
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India work as an independent body and are not controlled by the government.
CAG of India is arranged by the President. The Comptroller and Auditor General is also the head of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service. At present, more than 58,000 employees work in this public institution all over India.
8. ATTORNEY GENERAL OF INDIA (ARTICLE 76)
The Attorney General of India is considered the Highest Law officer in India and the Chief Advocate of the Government in the Supreme Court of India. He is the Chief Legal Adviser to the Government of India.
The Attorney-general is appointed by the President of India. The president exercises his power under Article 72 of the constitution while appointing the Attorney General of India. The person who qualifies to become a supreme court judge, the President can appoint such a person to the post of Attorney General.
The duty of the Attorney General of the country is to advise the Central Government in legal matters and to perform those responsibilities of the legal process which are referred to him by the President.
While mentioning the Attorney General of India, it is pertinent to mention that – in addition to the Attorney General of India there are other law officers in the country at the central government level.
These Officers are known as the Solicitor General of India and additional solicitor general of India. Their responsibilities are to assist the AG in his office work.
It should be carefully noted that – Posts of the Solicitor General and additional solicitor general are not mentioned in the constitution or under article 76 of the COI only the Office of the AG is formed by the constitution.
9. ADVOCATE GENERAL OF THE STATE (ARTICLE 165)
The Advocate General of any state deals with Article 165. Similar to the Attorney General of India, the Advocate General is the supreme Law Officer in the State.
He is responsible for assisting the State Government in all legal matters. He defends and protects the interests of the state government.
The office of the Advocate General of the State is similar to the office of the Attorney General of India.
10. SPECIAL OFFICER FOR LINGUISTIC MINORITIES (ARTICLE 350B)
There will be a special officer for linguistic minority groups to be appointed by the President.
Read: Article 21: Protection of life and personal liberty
According to this constitution, it is the responsibility of the Special Officer to investigate and report to the President on all matters relating to the safeguards of linguistic minorities.
Such matters are directed by the President and the President lays all such reports before each House of Parliament and sends them to the respective State Governments.
Definition of Non-Constitutional Bodies in India
Non-constitutional or extra-constitutional bodies are the same. These institutions are not written in the constitution of the country.
That is, for their formation, the central government has to pass a bill in Parliament. Hence such bodies are non-constitutional bodies that are constituted for the fulfillment of a specific purpose.
Read: What is Article 370? Jammu and Kashmir
CBI was established in 1963 through the resolution of the Ministry of Home Affairs (Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946) due to which it is not a constitutional body.
Its job is to investigate the causes of crime, scams, and international crime in the country.
The list of non-constitutional bodies in India is as –
- NITI AAYOG
- NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL
- NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
- STATE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
- CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
- CENTRAL VIGILANCE COMMISSION
- LOKPAL AND LOKAYUKTA
- STATE INFORMATION COMMISSION
- CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSION
1. NITI AAYOG
NITI Aayog (National Institute for Transforming India) is a new institute set up by the Government of India, which has been replaced by the Planning Commission.
On January 1, 2015, a Cabinet resolution giving information regarding this new institution was issued. NITI Ayog is just a think tank of the government that provides directional and policy dynamism.
NITI Aayog also provides relevant critical and technical advice to the Government on the key policy components at the Central and State levels.
This will include matters relating to national and international imports on the economic front, within the country, dissemination of best practices from other countries, incorporation of new policy ideas, and support based on specific themes.
Read: What is Article 370? Jammu and Kashmir
2. NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL
The National Development Council was formed on August 6, 1952, by a resolution of the government, accepting the idea that the states should participate in the formulation of the plan.
NDC is an executive body. The national development council approves the five-year plans of the country. The Prime Minister deals with this council.
Read: FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS (मौलिक अधिकार)
The Chief Ministers of all the states of the Indian Union and all the members of the Planning Commission are its ex-officio members.
3. NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
The National Human Rights Commission was established on 12 October 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Act.
Human Rights Commission’s headquarter is in New Delhi. It protects the human rights given by the constitution, like the right to life, the right to liberty, and the right to equality, and acts as their watchdog.
4. STATE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
Based on the Human Rights Protection Act (1993), the State Human Rights Commission has been formed at the state level.
Human rights violations relating to subjects included in the State List and Concurrent List in the Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution can be investigated by the State Human Rights Commission.
5. CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
The Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI is the principal investigating agency of the Government of India.
It is imposed to investigate different types of cases related to criminal and national security.
Read: Indian Constitution: History, Features and Preamble
The Department of Personnel and Training is managed by CBI.
Although its organization is similar to that of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, its jurisdiction and scope are much more limited than that of the FBI.
Its powers and functions are defined by the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946. The CBI is the official unit of INTERPOL for India.
6. CENTRAL VIGILANCE COMMISSION
The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) of India is the apex body for controlling corruption related to the officers/employees of various departments of the Government of India.
CVC was organized in the year 1964.
The Santhanam Committee (1962-64) recommended the constitution of this commission, which was constituted to give suggestions related to the prevention of corruption.
The Central Vigilance Commission is a multi-member body having statutory status.
7. LOKPAL AND LOKAYUKTA
Lokpal for the central government and Lokayukta for the state government has been created.
It is the responsibility of Lokpal and Lokayukta to investigate and inquire in complaints related to corruption and abuse of office against government servants independently and impartially, these institutions are independent, the jurisdiction of Lokpal is the whole of India, and the jurisdiction of Lokayukta is the whole state.
On January 1, 2014, President of India Pranab Mukherjee signed the Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill-2013, with this the bill became an Act.
8. STATE INFORMATION COMMISSION
The State Information Commission deals with the Chief Information Commissioner and ten State Information Commissioners. Who is appointed by the Governor after the recommendation of a committee?
This committee is headed by the Chief Minister of the State and includes the Leader of the Opposition of the State Legislative Assembly and a Cabinet Minister of the State nominated by the Chief Minister.
The person to be appointed to this post should be of eminence in public life and should not hold any other office of profit and should not be associated with any political party or in any trade or profession.
9. CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSION
The powers and functions of the Central Information Commission are mentioned in Sections 18, 19, 20, and 25 of the Right to Information Act.
These mainly include receiving and investigating complaints based on facts, such as the inability to file information applications. It broadly relates to adjudicating in 2nd appeal for providing the information.
It mainly deals with information related to the Central Government offices.
Apart from this, instructions for maintenance of documents, self-disclosure, receipt of complaints on inability to file RTI and investigation, etc. are also included in its functions.
Along with this, the powers related to financial punishment, monitoring, reporting, etc. are also vested in the commission.
The decisions of the Commission are final and binding but can be challenged in the High Court or the Supreme Court.
In this article, we have mentioned the list of CONSTITUTIONAL AND NON-CONSTITUTIONAL bodies in India. To find the latest and detailed information about the CONSTITUTIONAL AND NON-CONSTITUTIONAL bodies please keep visiting this page.
What did you learn? On this page, you learned about Constitutional and Non-constitutional bodies in India, their definition and functions, etc. The topic is very important for UPSC aspirants and other Civil Services aspirants as well. Every year at least one question is directly asked on this topic in the UPSC prelims examination.