Constitutional And Non Constitutional Bodies In India

India is the biggest democratic country. It has a government that runs in the parliamentary system. So, several constitutional and non-constitutional bodies ensure that the country runs smoothly.

Generally, the constitutional bodies have more power than the other ones. As these offices are mentioned in the Indian Constitution, they can work independently. On the other hand, non-constitutional bodies are also known as extra-constitutional bodies. An extra-constitutional body has no power to work independently. These bodies are made by the resolution of the government anytime after the constitution was adopted. A non-constitutional body can be dissolved at any point in time if it is not required. 

Some Constitutional Bodies in India

Here is the list of constitutional bodies in India.  Short notes on each constitutional body are given here as you can easily understand the works they do. 

Election Commission: The Election Commission is a constitutional body in India and it is mentioned in Article 324 of the Indian Constitution. The primary work of the Election Commission is to control the general elections in the country. It also conducts the elections for the house of vice president and president.

In the federal structure of the Indian Government, the EC conducts both state and central elections. As per the structure of the body, the EC is headed by the Chief Election Commissioner. Other election commissioners work under him for a fixed period. 

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The structure of the Election Commission of India can be changed by the president anytime as per the requirement. The chief of the EC is appointed by the president. In turn, the chairman of the body is appointed by the chief election commissioner.

The rule of the president is final when it comes to the tenure of the officers working in the EC. Generally, it is six years. The upper age limit for every officer till the time they can hold the office is 65 years. The current chairman of the EC is Sunil Arora. 

UPSC- The Union Public Service Commission is yet another constitutional body of the Indian Government. If you do not know the constitutional post meaning, you should be aware that every person working in a constitutional body holds such a post. 

In India, 1926 is a remarkable year as the PSC was set for the first time. In articles 315 to 323, all the details about the UPSC are mentioned in the Indian Constitution. In 1935, however, the first Federal Public Service Commission came into existence. 

The primary work of the UPSC is to conduct exams to recruit deserving candidates for different government offices. The types of exams conducted by this body can lead a person to get a job in the central service and public service sectors.

The UPSC also looks after system framing for the examinations and the entire process by which the selection of the best candidate would occur. Moreover, the body looks after the promotional process for the officeholders and joint recruitment if needed. Apart from these primary responsibilities, the UPSC board has several other responsibilities too. You can study the theme as you go through this chapter in-depth. 

When we come to the structure of the body, we find that there is a chairman who is appointed by the president. Other members are also appointed by the official state head but at least half of the members forming the board should be government officials for more than 10 years. The current chairman of this body is Arvind Saxena.

The State Public Service Commission is more or less homologous to the UPSC, and the structure of the office is supervised by the governor. The duties and responsibilities are the same for the SPSC, but it concerns the state. The articles of SPSC in the constitution are the same as the UPSC. 

Finance Commission: Finance Commission is yet another constitutional body. It came into being in 1951. The body consists of 5 members and is headed by a chairman. There is a secretary and other members. The name of the Finance Commission is mentioned in article 280. 

The members who are from the field of public affairs and judiciary mainly become the members of the Finance Commission. The reason people are chosen from this field by the president is due to their experience and knowledge in the financial field. Now we come to the duties which the Finance Commission has to execute for the country. Here are the points:

• The financial distribution between states and unions in terms of taxes.

• Proper distribution of the taxes and shares between the union and the states.

• Taking all the decisions regarding the financial principles that will be enacted in the country.

• The Finance Commission acts as a statutory body for the municipalities and the panchayats all over the country.

Some Non-Constitutional Bodies in India

Now for some non-constitutional bodies in India that work for the betterment of the country in different fields.  

NITI Aayog: The NITI Aayog is one of the primary bodies of the Government of India, which acts as a think tank. It was formed on the first day of the year 2015. As the Prime Minister’s brainchild, the chairman of NITI Aayog is Narendra Modi. Now the question arises is NITI Aayog a constitutional body? Well, the answer is no. NITI Aayog is an extra-constitutional body. 

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The primary work of NITI Aayog is providing the correct technical and strategic suggestions to both Union and State Governments. All national development policies come out from the NITI Aayog. Financial mechanisms and the prediction of the profits against a particular mechanism are also made in the NITI Aayog.

National Human Rights Commission: The National Human Rights Commission is yet another non-constitutional body that was formed in 1993. The chairman of this body must always be a retired chief justice. Generally, there are four members under the chairperson of the body. The primary functions of the NHRC are mentioned below:

• Carry out a Suo motu inquiry on a particular petition presented to it.

• The petitions can be presented to the NHRC by any victim who has gone through a human rights violation. 

• A person can also file a petition in the NHRC if the human rights violation is done by a public servant. 

• NHRC has to intervene in all the matters where human rights are violated and bring them to court. 

• Officers from the NHRC have to visit the correctional houses in regular intervals to study the condition and lifestyle of the inmates there. 

• Take proper action in such cases where the violation of human rights takes place. 

The CBI- The Central Bureau of Investigation is a non-constitutional body that deals with the most sensitive criminal cases of the country. The current chairman of the CBI is Rishi Kumar Shukla. This body works under the Ministry of Personnel. The primary work of this body is to check and restrict any mishaps in the country that are subjected to a criminal offence or corruption.  The academy of CBI is located at Ghaziabad, UP. The other regional training centres are newly formed, and they are located in Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai. 

The Primary Duties of CBI are Mentioned Below in Brief:

• A thorough investigation of any mishaps in the country which come under CBI’s jurisdiction.

• To stand off the high-technology crimes that pose a threat to national security.

• To work in a team and reach the root of a corruption racket and neutralise it early.

• To make a proper work environment for any company which is going through a problem of corruption.