Functions and limits of the Public Service Commissions

Detail

1. Where the functions sit in the Constitution

• Part XIV, Chapter II (Arts. 315–323) deals with Public Service Commissions (PSCs). Arts. 320–323 set out what they do and how they report [4].
• UPSC = Union Public Service Commission (recruits for the Union). SPSC = State Public Service Commission (recruits for a state). JSPSC = Joint State PSC for two or more states.

Article	What it covers
Art. 320	Functions: exams + compulsory consultation
Art. 321	Legislature can add more functions
Art. 322	Expenses of the commission are charged on the Consolidated Fund (the legislature does not vote on them)
Art. 323	Annual report, with reasons for every case where advice was rejected

2. Function 1: Conducting examinations (Art. 320(1)–(2))

• Art. 320(1): the UPSC and the SPSCs have a duty to conduct examinations for appointments to Union and state services [4].
• UPSC exams include:
• Civil Services Examination;
• Engineering Services and Indian Forest Service;
• NDA/NA and CDS for the armed forces [7];
• CAPF (Assistant Commandants) exam [8];

• others, such as the Combined Geo-Scientist exam.

• Art. 320(2): if two or more states ask, the UPSC helps them plan and run joint recruitment for posts that need candidates with special qualifications.

3. Function 2: Compulsory consultation (Art. 320(3))

The government "shall" consult the commission on the following [4]:

• (a) Methods of recruitment to civil services and civil posts.
• (b) Principles for appointments, promotions and transfers from one service to another, and the suitability of candidates for them.
• (c) Disciplinary matters affecting a civil servant, including memorials or petitions about them.
• (d) Legal costs: an officer sued for acts done in official duty claims that the costs of defending the case should be paid from the Consolidated Fund.
• (e) Injury pension: claims for a pension for injuries suffered while in government service.
• Plus any other matter the President or Governor refers to it.

4. Function 3: Extra functions by law (Art. 321)

• Parliament (for the UPSC) or a state legislature (for an SPSC) can give the commission extra functions by law.
• These can cover the services of the Union or state, and also of any local authority, statutory body (body corporate) or public institution.

5. Accountability: annual report (Art. 323)

• Art. 323(1): the UPSC sends a yearly report on its work to the President. The report includes a memorandum giving the reasons in each case where the government did not accept the commission's advice. The President has it laid before each House of Parliament [6].
• Art. 323(2): an SPSC reports to the Governor, who lays it before the state legislature.
• Why it matters: the government can reject the advice, but it must explain the rejection in public. This is the main accountability lever.
• In practice:
• UPSC annual reports have a separate section on non-acceptance of advice, mostly in disciplinary matters (e.g. 72nd Annual Report, 2021-22) [9].
• Reports also have a chapter on delays by ministries in acting on the commission's advice [10].

6. Limits: the advisory role

Advisory role of the UPSC means the commission only advises. The final decision stays with the government.

• Advice is not binding. The government may reject it. Its only duty is to explain why under Art. 323.
• State of U.P. v. Manbodhan Lal Srivastava (1957):
• The Supreme Court held that Art. 320(3) is "directory": a guideline, not a mandatory rule.
• If the government fails to consult the commission, its action is still valid.

• The affected officer cannot go to court only because the commission was not consulted.

• Art. 320(4): no consultation needed on reservations:

• Art. 16(4): reservation of posts for backward classes not adequately represented in services.

• Art. 335: claims of SCs and STs to posts, balanced against efficiency of administration.

• Art. 320(5): exemption by regulations:

• The President (for Union and All-India Services) or Governor (for state services) can make regulations listing matters on which the commission need not be consulted [4].
• Example: the UPSC (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations, 1958.

• The regulations must be laid before Parliament (or the state legislature) for at least 14 days. The legislature can amend or repeal them [5].

• Net effect: the Constitution makes consultation a duty. But the courts read it as a guideline, the reservation exceptions remove some matters, and exemption regulations take more posts out of the commission's hands.

7. Work moving to other bodies

• Recruitment: most Group B and Group C central posts are filled by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) and bank boards such as IBPS (see civil-services). These are not constitutional bodies.
• Service disputes go to the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) and state tribunals (Art. 323A), not to the PSCs (see justice-delivery-tribunals).
• New roles for the UPSC:
• DGP empanelment: after Prakash Singh v. Union of India (2006), a state must pick its Director General of Police from the three senior-most officers empanelled by the UPSC. The DGP gets a minimum two-year tenure.
• Lateral entry: the UPSC processed recruitment of outside specialists to senior central posts. This continued until the scheme's advertisement was withdrawn in 2024 (see civil-services).

8. Credibility problems

• SPSCs face paper leaks, long delays in results and frequent court cases. These stall recruitment for years.
• State laws against exam cheating: for example, the Uttar Pradesh Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 and the Bihar Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 [11][12].
• Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 (central law):
• Covers: recruitment exams of the UPSC, SSC, RRBs, IBPS, NTA and central ministries and departments. The NTA runs entrance tests such as NEET, JEE and CUET [2][3].
• People using unfair means: 3–5 years in jail and a fine of up to ₹10 lakh [3].
• Service provider (an exam-handling firm): fine of up to ₹1 crore, recovery of the exam's cost, and a 4-year ban from conducting public exams [3].
• Directors or senior managers of a service provider who agreed to or helped with the offence: 3–10 years in jail and a fine of ₹1 crore [3].
• Organised crime (by a group, including an exam authority or service provider): 5–10 years in jail and a fine of at least ₹1 crore [3].
• Nature of offences: cognizable (police can arrest without a warrant), non-bailable and non-compoundable (cannot be settled privately) [3].

• Candidates are not punished under this Act. They face the exam body's own unfair-means rules [3].

• Puja Khedkar case (2024):

• What happened: a probationary IAS officer was found to have faked her identity and her eligibility claims.
• UPSC response 1: it cancelled her candidature and barred her from future exams.

• UPSC response 2: it tightened identity checks. Applicants are now advised to use Aadhaar for ID verification. Face authentication at the exam centre is mandatory for all candidates [7][8].

• Leadership: the UPSC chairman resigned in 2024. Dr. Ajay Kumar took oath as Chairman on 15 May 2025 [13].

9. Representation and the limits of protection

• Reservations for SCs, STs, OBCs and EWS in recruitment make the bureaucracy more representative of Indian society (NCERT, Class 11, Executive).
• Independent commission → fair recruitment: the Constitution guards entry into service through the UPSC and SPSCs.
• Protection stops at entry: the commission plays no part in an officer's day-to-day work. Transfers and postings decided by politicians can still cause political interference (debate in civil-services).

Prelims Hooks

• Art. 320(3) lists five matters for compulsory consultation. Reservations are NOT on the list. Art. 320(4) excludes Art. 16(4) and Art. 335.
• Manbodhan Lal Srivastava (1957): Art. 320(3) is directory, not mandatory. Not consulting the UPSC does not make the action void.
• Art. 323: the UPSC reports to the President, with reasons for non-acceptance of its advice. SPSCs report to the Governor.
• Art. 321: extra functions, including for local authorities, need a law of Parliament or the state legislature, not an executive order.
• Art. 320(2): the UPSC helps in joint recruitment only if two or more states request it.
• Art. 320(5): exemption regulations are laid before the legislature for at least 14 days and can be modified. Example: the 1958 UPSC (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations.
• Public Examinations Act 2024: offences are cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable. Organised crime carries 5–10 years and at least ₹1 crore. Candidates are outside its penal provisions.
• Prakash Singh (2006): the UPSC empanels officers, and the state picks its DGP from the three senior-most of them.
• Trap: UPSC advice is binding → False. The government need only give reasons for rejecting it, and those reasons go to Parliament.

Mains Points

• Advisory, not binding:
• For: the elected government stays responsible for its decisions.
• Against: Manbodhan Lal means consultation can be skipped without legal consequence.

• Reform idea: make consultation in disciplinary cases mandatory, or require Parliament to discuss non-acceptance cases instead of just receiving the report.

• Shrinking role:

• The SSC, RRBs, exemption regulations and the CAT have taken much of the PSCs' work.
• New duties such as DGP empanelment and lateral entry show the UPSC is trusted as a neutral body.

• This creates a case for a clear legal mandate for those new duties.

• Exam integrity:

• SPSC leaks and the 2024 Khedkar case hurt public trust in recruitment.
• The 2024 central Act and state Acts punish organised cheating.

• Laws alone are not enough: technology checks (Aadhaar, face authentication), time-bound results and independent SPSC appointments are needed.

• Representative but not insulated:

• Reservation-based recruitment makes the bureaucracy representative.
• The Constitution protects only entry, not tenure or postings. This links to reforms such as a Civil Services Board for transfers.