Constitutional Institutions of India

Jul 08 2024 11 Min read #indian constitution

Election Commission

Article 324 of the Constitution allows for the constitution of the Election Commission. The Election Commission was single-member from 1950-1989. On October 16, 1989, the President appointed two Election Commissioners. On October 1, 1993, the Government of India constituted a three-member Election Commission headed by Narasimha Rao. The powers, salary, allowance etc. of the members of the Election Commission shall be equal. The President appoints the members of the Election Commission on the advice of the Cabinet. The term of office of Election Commissioner is 6 years or 65 years. The tenure of the State Election Commissioner is decided by the President.

Members of the Election Commission have the status of Supreme Court Judges.The members of the State Election Commission shall have the status of Judges of the State High Courts. Salaries, allowances etc. of Election Commission members are paid from the Consolidated Fund of India. Removal of the Chief Election Commissioner follows the procedure of removing a Supreme Court judge. The President and the Governor provide the necessary staff to the Commission to conduct the elections. The terms of service of Election Commission members and Regional Commissioners shall be decided by Parliament.

After the election, the power to issue notification for the constitution of the House belongs to the Election Commission. The President issues a notification for Lok Sabha elections on the recommendation of the Election Commission. The Governor issues a notification on the recommendation of the Election Commission for conducting elections to the State Legislative Assembly. The deposit can be withdrawn only if the candidate who loses the election gets more than 1/6th of the total votes to be validated. The expenditure account must be submitted to the Returning Officer within 30 days of the election. The Election Commission has the power to supervise, direct and control the elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and all the State Legislative Assemblies.

Our Election Commission was established on January 25, 1950. The Election Commission of India celebrated its Diamond Jubilee on January 25, 2010 by completing 60 years. The Election Commission of India is headquartered in New Delhi. Elections are held in India as per the Representation of the People Act, 1950-51. Sukumar Sen, the first Election Commissioner of India,V.S. Ramadevi is the first woman Chief Election Commissioner of India.

Procedure:The President issues notification for Lok Sabha elections on the recommendation of the Election Commission. The Governor issues a notification on the recommendation of the Election Commission to conduct elections to the same state assembly. Dates are designated for submission and withdrawal of nomination papers by the candidates who wish to contest the elections. The Election Commission will scrutinize the nomination papers and reject the incomplete ones.

The election will be held 20 days after the withdrawal of nomination papers. The election campaign will be started once the names of the candidates are published by the Election Commission as nomination papers. Open election campaigning should be stopped 48 hours before polling. A deposit of Rs 10,000 is required for candidates contesting the Lok Sabha elections and a deposit of Rs 5,000 for candidates contesting for assembly seats. Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates have to deposit half of this amount.

The deposit can be withdrawn only if the candidate who loses the election gets more than 1/6th of the votes. Counting of votes. It is also the commission's responsibility to publish the result.

Finance Commission

Article 280 of the Constitution describes the Finance Commission. The President constitutes a Finance Commission every five years. Parliament determines the qualifications of the chairman and members of the Finance Commission.A person with experience public affairs in the profession will be appointed as the President. There will be a total of five members including one chairman and four members.

Persons qualified to be judges of the Supreme Court, having subject knowledge in public finance, having special knowledge in economics, shall be made members. The Finance Commission submits its annual report to the President. The President presents the report in Parliament. The Central Government may accept or reject the recommendations of the Finance Commission. The first Finance Commission of India was constituted on November 22, 1951. In case of resignation, the Chairman and members of the Finance Commission shall submit their resignation to the President. The Finance Commission shall have all the powers of a Civil Court.

Article 265 of the Constitution states that any taxes shall be levied only by law. Article 266 describes the nature of Provident Fund of India and State Provident Fund. Also, Article 266(3) provides that funds from accumulated funds shall be disbursed only in accordance with law. The same 268th provides creation about Sadilvaru Nidhi. The State Finance Commission is appointed by the Governor. The term of office of the State Finance Commission is five years.The State Finance Commission consists of a Chairman and two members.

Central Public Service Commission

The Central Public Service Commission was created under Article 315 of the Constitution. Central Public Service Commission recruits candidates for All India and Central Services is an institution.The Central Public Service Commission is empowered to meet the requirements of the State Governments regarding recruitment on the request of the State Governments.

The Central Public Service Commission consists of a Chairman and other members. The Constitution does not specify the number of members of the Commission. The number of members of the Commission is decided by the President. The Central Public Service Commission normally consists of 11 members including the Chairman. The Chairman and members of the Commission are appointed by the President on the advice of the Cabinet. Half of the members of the Commission should have served at least 10 years in the Central or State Government. The Constitution empowers the President to determine the terms of service of the Commission's Chairman and members.

Members of the Central Public Service Commission hold office for six years or till they attain the age of 65 years. He can leave office before the term by submitting his resignation to the President. Parliament decides from time to time about the remuneration of the Speaker and the members. The Chairman or members of the Commission are in other salaried positions during their term of office. or if they are unfit to continue in service, the President may remove them. The President can also remove the President and members on grounds of misconduct.

Important functions:

  1. Conducting competitive examinations for all India services.
  2. To advise the Central Government regarding the recruitment process.
  3. To advise the Central Government on the matter of promotion.
  4. To advise the Central Government regarding disciplinary action.
  5. To advise the Center regarding extension of tenure.
  6. Submitting an annual report of its activities to the Centre.
  7. Giving any advice relating to the Civil Service category.

The Independent India Service Commission was established on January 26, 1950. India's first Public Service Commission was established in 1926 under the chairmanship of Sir Barker on the recommendation of the pre-independence Royal Commissioner.

The Constitution of India currently allows more than two states to establish a Joint Public Service Commission. A Joint Public Service Commission may be established by an Act of Parliament on the petition of the State Legislative Assemblies concerned. The Joint Public Service Commission is a statutory body and not a constitutional body. An example of a Joint Public Service Commission is that Punjab and Haryana had a single Joint Public Service Commission for some time after the partition of Punjab into a separate state in 1966. The Chairman and members of the Joint Public Service Commission are also appointed by the President.

State Public Service Commission

Article 315 of the Constitution provides an opportunity for State Public Service Commission. State Public Service Commission recruits eligible candidates for state services. The State Public Service Commission consists of a Chairman and other members. The constitution also stipulates the number of members of the commission not specified.

The Karnataka Public Service Commission was constituted in 1951. The members of the State Public Service Commission shall hold office for a period of 6 years or till they attain the age of 65 years. The Supreme Court can inquire into the misconduct of the Chairman or members of the Rajya Lok Seva Commission and remove the accused. The Governor may suspend the Chairman or members pending an inquiry. If he is in any other salaried post, he can be removed by the President if he is incompetent. The salary and allowances of the Chairman and members of the Commission shall be decided by the State Legislature. K.P.S.C. The salary and allowances of the Chairman and members are paid from the State Accumulated Fund.

Finance Commission

According to Article 280 of the Constitution to the Finance Commission the President appoints the Finance Commission every five years 1 creates Its functions are:

  1. To advise the President regarding the distribution of revenue between the Center and the States.
  2. To advise the President on the terms under which the Center should provide financial assistance to the States from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of India.
  3. To give advice and instructions in relation to any matter the President may ask for the betterment of the economic situation.

Finance Commissions

Finance Commission Chairman Operational Duration
First K. C. Neogy 1952–57
Second K. Santhanam 1957–62
Third Ashok Kumar Chanda 1962–66
Fourth P. V. Rajamannar 1966–69
Fifth Mahaveer Tyagi 1969–74
Sixth K. Brahmananda Reddy 1974–79
Seventh J.M. Shelat 1979–84
Eighth Y. B. Chavan 1984–89
Ninth N.K.P. Salve 1989–95
Tenth K.C. Pant 1995–2000
Eleventh A.M. Khusro 2000–2005
Twelfth C. Rangarajan 2005–2010
Thirteenth Dr. Vijay L. Kelkar 2010–2015
Fourteenth Yaga Venugopal Reddy 2015–2020
Fifteenth N. K. Singh 2020-2025

The President presents the report submitted to him by the Commission in the Parliament. It is not mandatory for the central government to accept the recommendations of this commission.

National Commission for Scheduled Castes

The Scheduled Castes Commission consists of a Chairman, Vice-Chairman and three members. He is appointed by the President on the advice of the Council of Ministers. His powers and terms of service are decided by the President. Commission submits an annual report to the President. He will present it in Parliament.

The report of the Commission relating to the State Governments is sent to the Governor. The term of office of the members of the commission is three years. In 2003, Article 338 was amended by the 89th Amendment Act, bifurcating the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and establishing the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.

The National Commission for Scheduled Castes came into being on February 20, 2004. The National Commission for Scheduled Castes functions under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India. Surajban served as the Chairman of the first National Commission for Scheduled Castes. The second National Commission for Scheduled Castes was constituted on May 25, 2007. But Buta Singh presided. The third commission was constituted on October 15, 2010.

If the Chairman of the Commission has to resign under any special circumstances, it should be submitted to the President. Examines all matters relating to the protection afforded to Scheduled Castes by the Constitution and laws. And evaluate how these work. The Commission has the power to summon any person anywhere in India to appear before it.

National Commission for Scheduled Tribes

In 2003, the 89th Amendment to the Constitution bifurcated the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and provided for the formation of separate commissions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. It was called the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes. A separate National Commission for Scheduled Tribes came into existence in 2004.

Functions:

  1. To investigate cases related to rights and grievances of Scheduled Tribes.
  2. Scrutiny of all matters relating to the protection provided by the Constitution and laws to the Scheduled Tribes.
  3. Advising the Government regarding socio-economic development of Scheduled Tribes.
  4. To assess the extent to which development of Scheduled Tribes has been achieved.
  5. Effective implementation of the privileges granted by the Constitution for the protection and welfare of the Scheduled Tribes.
  6. Carrying out other tasks in order to achieve progress.

Powers: The Commission has been given ample powers. A person in any part of India may be served with a notice to appear before him. Also may be directed to provide documents. Evidence can be verified.

Any public record may be obtained from any court or office relevant to the case. The term of the members of the Commission shall be three years.The Commission shall have one Chairman. It will have a Vice-President and three members. When the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes came into being, its first chairman, Kanwar Singh, submitted its annual report to the President while the Commission submitted its annual report.