The UPSC derives its functions from which of the following sources ?
1. The Constitution
2. Parliamentary Laws
3. Executive Rules and Orders
4. Conventions
Select the correct answer from the codes giv

Question

The UPSC derives its functions from which of the following sources ?
1. The Constitution
2. Parliamentary Laws
3. Executive Rules and Orders
4. Conventions
Select the correct answer from the codes given below :

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — D, 1, 2, 3 and 4. The Union Public Service Commission is a creature of the Constitution, but the Constitution is not the only thing that tells it what to do, and each of the four heads listed can be traced to a specific provision. (1) The Constitution. Articles 315 to 323, in Part XIV, create the Commission and fix its core work: Article 315 establishes a Public Service Commission for the Union and one for each State, and Article 320 sets out its duties — to conduct examinations for appointments to the services of the Union, and to be consulted on methods of recruitment, on the principles to be followed in appointments, promotions and transfers, on disciplinary matters affecting a civil servant, on claims for reimbursement of legal costs, and on certain pension claims. (2) Parliamentary laws. Article 321 is titled 'Power to extend functions of Public Service Commissions' and provides in terms that an Act made by Parliament may confer additional functions on the Union Public Service Commission, including functions in respect of the services of any local authority, corporate body or public institution. Statute is therefore an express second source, written into the Constitution itself. (3) Executive rules and orders. Article 318 empowers the President to make regulations determining the number of members of the Commission and their conditions of service; more directly, the proviso to Article 320(3) empowers the President to make regulations specifying the matters in which it shall not be necessary for the Commission to be consulted — the exemption regulations made under it decide a great deal of what actually reaches the Commission's desk. Alongside these, recruitment rules for Central services framed by the Government under the proviso to Article 309 specify where and how the Commission is to be consulted. (4) Conventions. The Constitution leaves much of the working relationship unwritten. The Commission's advice under Article 320(3) is advisory and does not bind the Government; what disciplines the relationship is partly Article 323, which requires the Commission's annual report to be laid before each House of Parliament together with a memorandum explaining every case in which its advice was not accepted, and partly settled administrative practice built up over decades. Since all four heads genuinely contribute, the inclusive option is the right one and the key marks (d).

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Correct as far as it goes, and therefore dangerous — the Constitution and Parliamentary law really are two sources. But the list is incomplete. It ignores the presidential regulations expressly contemplated by Article 318 and by the proviso to Article 320(3), which determine, among other things, the matters on which the Commission need not be consulted at all, and it ignores the unwritten practice that governs how the Government handles the Commission's advice.  (b) Leaves out Parliamentary laws, which is the one source the Constitution names in so many words. Article 321 is headed 'Power to extend functions of Public Service Commissions' and says an Act of Parliament may provide for the exercise of additional functions by the Union Public Service Commission; an option that excludes statute is contradicted by the text of the Constitution it claims to rely on.  (c) The narrowest reading and the commonest wrong instinct — 'it is a constitutional body, so its functions must come only from the Constitution'. Being a constitutional body means the Commission is created by the Constitution and cannot be abolished by ordinary law; it does not mean the Constitution is an exhaustive statement of its work. Article 321 permits Parliament to add functions, Article 318 and the proviso to Article 320(3) permit the President to make regulations, and practice fills the remaining gaps.

Concept: The Union Public Service Commission is the central recruiting agency of the Union, established by Article 315 and dealt with in Articles 315 to 323 of Part XIV of the Constitution. Its Chairman and members are appointed by the President under Article 316, hold office for six years or until the age of sixty-five, and can be removed only by the President under Article 317 — and on the ground of misbehaviour only after the Supreme Court, on a reference by the President, has held an enquiry and reported. Its expenses, including the salaries and pensions of its members and staff, are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India under Article 322, so they are not put to the vote of Parliament. These provisions are designed to give it independence; the question here is about the different matter of where its functions come from.

State PCS 2024 Q124 — Polity & Governance PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2024 Q124 — Polity & Governance PYQ with Answer