Chapter Overview

Constitutional bodies (संवैधानिक निकाय) are institutions created directly by the Constitution, so they cannot be abolished or have their basic structure changed without a constitutional amendment. Statutory bodies (सांविधिक निकाय) are created by an Act of Parliament or a state legislature. This chapter covers the four constitutional bodies that keep elections free, public money accountable, recruitment fair and federal finance balanced. One of them, the State Public Service Commission, is the body that conducts your own exam.

What You’ll Learn

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

Quote the article numbers of each body (324, 148, 315, 280) and what each related article does
Compare appointment, term, removal and post-retirement rules across the four bodies
Explain the Anoop Baranwal judgment (2023) and the CEC and ECs Act, 2023
Trace how a CAG report on Chhattisgarh reaches the Vidhan Sabha’s Public Accounts Committee
Explain why a State PSC member is appointed by the Governor but removed by the President
State the 16th Finance Commission’s devolution formula and what it means for Chhattisgarh
Write balanced Mains answers on the independence and limits of these institutions

Prerequisites

Parliament — the Houses that receive these bodies’ reports and make the laws that govern them
Union Executive — the President, who appoints all four
Centre–State Relations — the federal background to the Finance Commission

Learning Path

Follow the topics in this order:

graph TD
    A["1. Election Commission
Arts 324–329, 2023 Act,
removal, functions"] --> B["2. CAG
Arts 148–151, audit,
PAC link"]
    B --> C["3. UPSC and State PSCs
Arts 315–323, removal,
Art 319, CGPSC"]
    C --> D["4. Finance Commission
Art 280, 15th and 16th FC,
Chhattisgarh's share"]
    D --> E["5. Quick Revision
One-page sheet"]
    E --> F["Next chapter:
Public Administration"]

Topics in This Chapter

#	Topic	What it covers
1	Election Commission of India	Arts 324–329, composition history, Anoop Baranwal and the 2023 Act, removal, functions, MCC, Chhattisgarh’s electoral machinery
2	Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)	Arts 148–151, DPC Act 1971, independence, kinds of audit, PAC, Accountant General in Raipur
3	UPSC and State Public Service Commissions	Arts 315–323, appointment and removal, Art 319, functions and limits, the CGPSC
4	Finance Commission	Art 280, divisible pool, 15th and 16th FC formulas, grants, Chhattisgarh’s share
—	Quick Revision	All four bodies compared on one page

Where It Is Asked

Paper	What to expect
Prelims P-I (Part 1, India GS)	Article numbers; who appoints and who removes; term and age limits (65 vs 62); “to whom is the report submitted”; Finance Commission composition and devolution figures. Statement-based and match-the-following formats are common
Mains P-III (GS-I), Constitution and Public Administration	Short answers (e.g. “ECI vs SEC”, “role of the PAC and CAG”) and longer analytical answers on independence of the Election Commission, the CAG and financial accountability, PSCs and the merit system, and fiscal federalism

Exam focus

High-yield: removal of the CEC versus ECs; the 2023 Act’s Selection Committee; Art 151 (President vs Governor); Art 317 and Art 319; Finance Commission composition and the 41% figure.
Common mistakes: saying the Governor removes State PSC members; saying the ECI conducts panchayat polls; saying Finance Commission recommendations are binding; putting the CAG on the PAC.
Chhattisgarh angle for Mains: NOTA’s first use in the state’s 2013 elections; the AG (Audit), Raipur, and the Vidhan Sabha’s PAC; the CGPSC and the debate on recruitment credibility; the state’s 3.407% share under the 15th FC.

Quick Reference: The Four Bodies

Body	Articles	Appointed by	Term	Removed
Election Commission	324–329	President (Selection Committee under the 2023 Act)	6 years or 65	CEC like an SC judge; ECs on the CEC’s recommendation
CAG	148–151	President	6 years or 65	Like an SC judge
UPSC	315–323	President	6 years or 65	President (SC inquiry for misbehaviour)
State PSC (CGPSC)	315–323	Governor	6 years or 62	President (SC inquiry for misbehaviour)
Finance Commission	280–281	President	Period set by the President	—

Constitutional, statutory or executive?

Type	Examples
Constitutional	Election Commission, CAG, UPSC and State PSCs, Finance Commission, State Election Commission (243K), State Finance Commission (243I), NCSC (338), NCST (338A), NCBC (338B), GST Council (279A), Attorney General (76), Advocate General (165)
Statutory	NHRC and State Human Rights Commissions (Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993), Central Vigilance Commission (CVC Act, 2003), Central Information Commission (RTI Act, 2005), Lokpal (Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013), Joint State PSC
Executive (neither)	NITI Aayog (Cabinet resolution, 2015)

Start Learning

Begin with the first topic:

→ Election Commission of India