UPSC Prelims 2023 Q35: Constitutional vs Statutory Bodies — Explained

Consider the following organizations/bodies in India:

1. The National Commission for Backward Classes

2. The National Human Rights Commission

3. The National Law Commission

4. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission

How many of the above are constitutional bodies?

  1. Only one
  2. Only two
  3. Only three
  4. All four

Answer: (a) Only one

Statement-wise explanation

  • 1: correct — The National Commission for Backward Classes became a constitutional body through the Constitution (102nd Amendment) Act, 2018. That amendment inserted Article 338B, which sets out the Commission's composition, its duties and its power to investigate complaints. The same amendment repealed the National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993, under which the NCBC had been a statutory body since 1993.
  • 2: incorrect — The National Human Rights Commission is a statutory body. It was set up on 12 October 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, which was amended in 2019. No Article of the Constitution creates it, so its powers and composition can be changed by an ordinary Act of Parliament.
  • 3: incorrect — The Law Commission of India is neither constitutional nor statutory. It is an executive (non-statutory) body that the Union Government reconstitutes by an order, usually for a three-year term. The first Law Commission of independent India was set up in 1955 under M.C. Setalvad. Its reports are only advisory.
  • 4: incorrect — The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission is a statutory, quasi-judicial body. It was first set up under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 and now works under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. That Act creates three tiers of consumer commissions: District, State and National. Being quasi-judicial does not make a body constitutional. What matters is the law that creates it.

How to eliminate

This question cannot be solved by option logic alone. You must know where each body comes from. Two of the four are easy to rule out with basic knowledge. The Law Commission is a well-known example of an executive body set up by government order. Consumer commissions are tied to the Consumer Protection Act, which makes them statutory. That leaves the NHRC and the NCBC. The usual trap is that both are called 'National Commission' and both have quasi-judicial powers, which can make them look like constitutional bodies. Use one test: is there an Article of the Constitution that creates the body? The NCBC has Article 338B, added in 2018. The NHRC has no such Article; it comes from the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. Facts to remember: among the 'National Commissions' for social groups, only three are constitutional: SC (Art. 338), ST (Art. 338A) and Backward Classes (Art. 338B). The commissions for Human Rights, Women, Minorities and Children are statutory.

Know more

Where a body comes from decides its type. India's public bodies fall into three groups, depending on the document that creates them.

Type Created by Can be abolished by Examples
Constitutional An Article of the Constitution A constitutional amendment only ECI (Art. 324), UPSC (Art. 315), CAG (Art. 148), Finance Commission (Art. 280), NCSC (Art. 338), NCST (Art. 338A), NCBC (Art. 338B), GST Council (Art. 279A)
Statutory An Act of Parliament or a state legislature Amending or repealing the Act NHRC (PHRA 1993), NCDRC (Consumer Protection Act 2019), National Commission for Women (1990 Act), National Commission for Minorities (1992 Act), CVC (2003 Act), CIC (RTI Act 2005), Lokpal (2013 Act)
Executive (non-statutory) A government resolution or order Another order Law Commission, NITI Aayog (2015) and the former Planning Commission

Common traps:

  • Status can change. The NCBC was statutory from 1993 to 2018 and became constitutional in 2018. The CVC was set up by executive resolution in 1964 and became statutory in 2003. Always check a body's current status.
  • Constitutional mention is not the same as constitutional creation. The National Commission for Minorities protects rights found in the Constitution, but the body itself was created by an Act.
  • 'Quasi-judicial' describes what a body does, not where it comes from. The NHRC, NCDRC and NCBC all have civil-court-like powers to summon witnesses and documents, yet they are of different types.

Follow-up on the NCBC: the 102nd Amendment (2018) also inserted Article 342A on the central list of socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs). In the Maratha reservation case (2021), the Supreme Court read Article 342A as removing the states' power to identify SEBCs. The 105th Amendment (2021) restored that power.

NCERT Concepts to Revise

  • Constitutional body: The question asks which bodies are created directly by the Constitution, so this definition is the test for all four statements.
  • Statutory body: Several of the listed commissions come from Acts of Parliament; this definition separates them from bodies created by the Constitution.
  • Executive body: One listed body is set up only by a government order, which makes it a third category beyond constitutional and statutory.
  • National Commission for Backward Classes: Statement 1 depends on the NCBC's current legal basis, which changed after its creation in 1993.

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