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Election Commission, Public Service Commissions and Finance Commission

Constitutional bodies · Part 1 / 2 · Fact-checked on 17 October 2026 · how we check

Written with AI from the sources listed at the bottom of this page, then fact-checked by a separate AI.

What makes a body constitutional; the Election Commission under Article 324 (appointment after Anoop Baranwal and the 2023 Act, removal, Seshan, Articles 325–329, symbols and the Model Code); the UPSC and State Public Service Commissions (Articles 315–323: appointment, removal, functions, non-binding advice); and the Finance Commission under Articles 280–281.

A democracy needs a few referees that the government of the day cannot bend: someone to run elections, someone to pick civil servants on merit, someone to divide tax money between the Union and the States. The Constitution creates these bodies itself, so no ordinary law can abolish them or quietly cut their powers; only a constitutional amendment can. Their independence rests on a familiar kit: a fixed term, a hard removal procedure, service conditions that cannot be worsened after appointment and, for some, expenses charged on the Consolidated Fund so that the legislature does not vote on them each year. This part covers three such referees: the Election Commission, the Public Service Commissions and the Finance Commission. Part 2 takes up the Comptroller and Auditor General, the commissions for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes, and bodies created by ordinary law.

Article 324 vests the superintendence, direction and control of elections in the Election Commission. Its reach covers the preparation of electoral rolls and the conduct of elections to Parliament, to every State legislature, and to the offices of President and Vice-President. Elections to panchayats and municipalities are outside it: those belong to the State Election Commissions under Articles 243K and 243ZA, which are separate bodies. The Commission consists of a Chief Election Commissioner and as many other Election Commissioners as the President fixes from time to time. For most of its first four decades it worked with the Chief Election Commissioner alone; since 1993 it has had a Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners. Regional Commissioners may also be appointed before a general election to help it. The words 'superintendence, direction and control' are broad: where no law covers a situation, the Commission can issue directions of its own to keep an election free and fair.

Article 324(2) leaves appointment to the President, subject to any law Parliament makes, and for decades no such law existed, so the Union government in effect chose. In Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India (2023) a Constitution Bench held that, until Parliament legislated, appointments should be made on the advice of a committee of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha (or the leader of the largest opposition party) and the Chief Justice of India. Parliament then passed the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023. Under it a search committee led by the Law Minister prepares a panel of five names, and a selection committee of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition (or largest opposition party leader) and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister recommends the appointment. A Commissioner serves six years or until age 65, whichever comes first.

Once appointed, the Chief Election Commissioner is hard to dislodge. Article 324(5) says he can be removed only in the manner and on the grounds of a Supreme Court judge, that is, by an order of the President after an address by each House of Parliament passed by a special majority on proved misbehaviour or incapacity. His conditions of service cannot be varied to his disadvantage after appointment. The other Election Commissioners and Regional Commissioners can be removed only on the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner, a shield that is real but thinner. Within the Commission the members are equals: in T.N. Seshan v. Union of India (1995) the Supreme Court upheld the multi-member Commission, holding that the Chief Election Commissioner is not superior in decision-making and that differences are settled by majority. Article 324(6) obliges the President and the Governors to give the Commission the staff it asks for during elections.

The neighbouring Articles fill in how elections work. Article 325 provides one general electoral roll for each constituency and bars anyone's exclusion from it on grounds only of religion, race, caste or sex, so there are no separate electorates. Article 326 bases elections on universal adult franchise; the 61st Amendment Act, 1988 lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. Articles 327 and 328 let Parliament and the State legislatures make laws on elections, and Article 329 bars courts from questioning delimitation laws or an election except through an election petition. Beyond running polls, the Commission recognises political parties and allots symbols under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, and advises the President or Governor when a legislator's disqualification is in question (Articles 103 and 192). It also enforces the Model Code of Conduct, which no statute creates; its force comes from the parties' consensus and the Commission's authority under Article 324.

The second referee picks the people who run the government. Article 315 provides a Public Service Commission for the Union (the UPSC) and one for each State. Two or more States may share a Joint State Public Service Commission, but that body is created by a law of Parliament after the State legislatures pass resolutions, so it is statutory rather than constitutional. The UPSC may also serve a State's needs if the Governor asks and the President agrees. Under Article 316 the President appoints the Chairman and members of the UPSC and of a Joint Commission, and the Governor appoints those of a State Commission. As nearly as possible, half the members must have held office for at least ten years under the Government of India or a State government. Members serve six years or until 65 in the UPSC, and until 62 in a State or Joint Commission, the age raised from 60 by the 41st Amendment (1976). The President or Governor fixes the number of members and their conditions of service (Article 318).

Independence comes from the removal rules. Under Article 317 only the President can remove a member of any Public Service Commission, even a State Commission member whom the Governor appointed. For misbehaviour the President must first refer the matter to the Supreme Court, and may remove the member only if the Court, after an inquiry, reports that he ought to be removed; meanwhile the President, or the Governor for a State Commission, may suspend him. Being interested in a government contract counts as misbehaviour. The President may also remove a member who is adjudged insolvent, takes paid work outside his duties, or is unfit through infirmity of mind or body. Article 319 limits later careers: the UPSC Chairman can hold no further government post, while other members may move up, for example a State Commission's Chairman to the UPSC. The Commissions' expenses are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or the State's Consolidated Fund (Article 322).

Article 320 makes the Commissions conduct examinations for appointments to the Union and State services and requires the government to consult them on methods of recruitment, the principles for appointments, promotions and transfers, disciplinary matters affecting civil servants, claims for legal costs, and pensions for injuries suffered on duty. Some matters are kept outside consultation: Article 320(4) says the Commission need not be consulted on reserving posts for backward classes, and the President or Governor may exclude further matters by regulation. Parliament or a State legislature may give a Commission extra functions by law (Article 321). Each Commission sends an annual report to the President or Governor, which goes before the legislature with a memorandum explaining any case where its advice was not accepted (Article 323). That advice does not bind the government: in State of U.P. v. Manbodhan Lal Srivastava (1957) the Supreme Court held the duty to consult under Article 320(3) to be directory, so an action taken without consultation is not void for that reason alone.

The third referee settles money. Under Article 280 the President constitutes a Finance Commission every five years, or earlier if needed, made up of a chairman and four other members. Their qualifications are set by the Finance Commission (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1951: the chairman must have experience of public affairs, and the members are drawn from people qualified to be High Court judges, experts in government finance and accounts, those with wide experience of financial matters and administration, and economists. The Commission recommends how the net proceeds of shared taxes are split between the Union and the States and among the States, the principles for grants-in-aid under Article 275, and measures to strengthen a State's Consolidated Fund to support its panchayats and municipalities. Unlike the other two referees, it is not permanent: each Commission is a fresh body that reports and dissolves. Its report is advisory and goes before Parliament with a memorandum on the action taken (Article 281). The first was chaired by K.C. Neogy; the Fifteenth, under N.K. Singh, set the States' share at 41 per cent for 2021–26; the Sixteenth, under Arvind Panagariya, covers 2026–31.

Set the three referees side by side and both the pattern and the differences become clear. All three are created by the Constitution and protected from the government of the day, but in different ways. The Election Commission is permanent and has the strongest shield for its head, removable only like a Supreme Court judge, and it acts rather than advises. The Public Service Commission is permanent too, its members removable only by the President after a Supreme Court inquiry for misbehaviour, its expenses charged, and its Chairman barred from later government jobs; yet its advice can be overruled with reasons given to the legislature. The Finance Commission is rebuilt every five years and only advises, though its advice on tax shares is usually followed. Part 2 continues with the Comptroller and Auditor General and the national commissions.

Exam traps

• The Election Commission runs elections to Parliament, State legislatures and the offices of President and Vice-President; panchayat and municipal elections belong to State Election Commissions (Articles 243K, 243ZA).
• Only the Chief Election Commissioner is removable like a Supreme Court judge; an Election Commissioner other than him cannot be removed except on the Chief Election Commissioner's recommendation (Article 324(5)).
• Anoop Baranwal (2023) put the Chief Justice of India on an interim selection committee; the 2023 Act replaced him with a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister.
• After T.N. Seshan (1995) the Chief Election Commissioner and the other Commissioners are equals, and the Commission decides by majority.
• A State Public Service Commission member is appointed by the Governor but can be removed only by the President; for misbehaviour the Supreme Court's inquiry comes first.
• Retirement age: 65 in the UPSC, 62 in State and Joint Commissions (raised from 60 by the 41st Amendment, 1976); the term is six years in all of them.
• A Joint State Public Service Commission is created by a law of Parliament, so it is a statutory body; the UPSC Chairman cannot take any further government job.
• The Finance Commission has a chairman and four members, but their qualifications come from the 1951 Act, not the Constitution; it is temporary and advisory, as is the advice of Public Service Commissions (Manbodhan Lal Srivastava, 1957).

Recap

• Constitutional bodies are created by the Constitution and changed only by amendment; independence comes from tenure, removal rules and protected service conditions.
• Election Commission (Article 324): elections to Parliament, State legislatures, President and Vice-President; multi-member since 1993.
• Appointment under the 2023 Act (selection committee of the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and a Cabinet Minister); six years or age 65.
• Chief Election Commissioner removable only like a Supreme Court judge; others on his recommendation; members equal (Seshan, 1995).
• Articles 325–329: one roll, adult suffrage at 18 (61st Amendment), election laws, bar on courts; Election Commission also recognises parties and allots symbols.
• Public Service Commissions (Articles 315–323): UPSC, State and Joint; six years or 65/62; removal only by the President after a Supreme Court inquiry for misbehaviour.
• Consultation on recruitment, promotion and discipline, but not on reservation; advice not binding (Manbodhan Lal Srivastava, 1957).
• Finance Commission (Article 280): every five years, chairman and four members, tax sharing and grants; Fifteenth (N.K. Singh, 41 per cent), Sixteenth (Arvind Panagariya, 2026–31).

Practice questions

Sources

• Constitution of India, Articles 103, 192, 275, 280–281 and 315–329 — https://legislative.gov.in/constitution-of-india/
• Constitution (Forty-first Amendment) Act, 1976; Constitution (Sixty-first Amendment) Act, 1988; Finance Commission (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1951; Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023; Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 (issued by the Election Commission under Article 324) — https://www.indiacode.nic.in
• Supreme Court of India: State of U.P. v. Manbodhan Lal Srivastava (1957); T.N. Seshan v. Union of India (1995); Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India (2023) — https://digiscr.sci.gov.in
• Report of the Fifteenth Finance Commission for 2021–26 and the explanatory memorandum laid before Parliament under Article 281 — https://sansad.in