UPSC and State Public Service Commissions

Prerequisites

• Comptroller and Auditor General — compare the “no further office” rule with the UPSC’s post-tenure rules.
• Public Administration — civil services, the bureaucracy these commissions recruit.
• Constitutional Development (1773–1950) — the 1919 and 1935 Acts, where public service commissions began.

The Hook: The Commission Behind Your Admit Card

Why it matters: Prelims loves the differences: UPSC 65 years, SPSC 62; appointed by the Governor but removed by the President; Article 319’s post-tenure rules. Mains asks about the PSCs as “watchdogs of the merit system” and about the credibility of recruitment.

Origin

Constitutional Provisions: Part XIV, Chapter II (Articles 315–323)

Composition, Appointment and Term

Joint State PSC: a statutory body (created by Parliament’s law), not a constitutional one. Its chairman and members are appointed by the President, hold office for 6 years or until 62, and it reports to each Governor concerned.

Removal and Suspension (Article 317)

graph TD
    A["Removal of a UPSC or SPSC member"] --> B["Ground: misbehaviour"]
    A --> C["Other grounds:
no Supreme Court inquiry"]
    B --> D["President refers to the
Supreme Court (Art 317(1))"]
    D --> E["SC inquires and reports;
its advice is binding"]
    E --> F["President removes"]
    C --> G["Adjudged insolvent"]
    C --> H["Paid employment outside
the duties of office"]
    C --> I["Unfit due to infirmity
of mind or body"]
    G --> F
    H --> F
    I --> F

• Removal is always by the President, even for a member of a State PSC who was appointed by the Governor.
• During the Supreme Court inquiry, a UPSC member may be suspended by the President, and a State PSC member by the Governor.
• Misbehaviour (Art 317(4)) includes being concerned or interested in a contract or agreement made by the government, or sharing in its profits, except as an ordinary member of an incorporated company.

After Office: Article 319

Pattern: a member can only move up within the PSC system. The UPSC chairman has nowhere higher to go, so he or she, like the CAG, can hold no further government office.

Functions (Article 320)

Article 320(1)–(3): the commissions

1. Conduct examinations for appointments to the Union services (UPSC) or state services (SPSC).
2. Assist states, if two or more request it, in schemes of joint recruitment for services needing special qualifications (UPSC).
3. Must be consulted on:
   • methods of recruitment to civil services and posts
   • principles for appointments, promotions and transfers, and the suitability of candidates
   • disciplinary matters affecting a civil servant, including memorials and petitions
   • claims for legal costs by a civil servant defending acts done in official duty
   • claims for pension for injuries sustained on duty
   • any other matter referred by the President or Governor

Article 320(4): the commissions need not be consulted on reservation of appointments or posts for backward classes (Art 16(4)) or on considering the claims of SCs and STs (Art 335).

Article 320(3) proviso: the President or Governor may make regulations specifying matters on which consultation is not needed.

Article 321: Parliament or a state legislature may give the commission additional functions, including over services of a local authority, corporate body or public institution.

Limits on the PSCs’ role

• They are recruiting bodies, not the authority that classifies services, fixes pay or decides cadre management. Those are executive functions.
• Many posts are filled outside them, by other recruitment bodies or through regulations exempting consultation.

The Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC)

Analysis for Mains: Watchdog of the Merit System

Strengths

1. Constitutional independence: fixed term, removal only through the President (with an SC inquiry for misbehaviour), charged expenses, post-tenure restrictions.
2. Merit-based, open recruitment across social backgrounds, which supports Article 16 (equality of opportunity).
3. Accountability through Article 323 reports.

Weaknesses

1. Advice is non-binding, and consultation can be bypassed by regulations under Art 320(3).
2. Appointments of chairmen and members are made by the executive with no prescribed process; at the state level this has invited allegations of patronage.
3. Delays in recruitment cycles and frequent litigation over answer keys and results, especially at state level.
4. Recurring paper leaks in state-level recruitment across India. Parliament passed the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 for central examinations, and several states have made their own laws.

Reforms suggested: transparent selection of members (a collegium or published criteria), fixed annual exam calendars, digital security of question papers, disclosure of marks, and time-bound disposal of objections.

Memory Tricks

Don’t Confuse

Common Mistakes

Practice

All questions below are original practice questions written in CGPSC style. They are not previous-year questions.

Level 1: Foundation

1. A member of a State Public Service Commission holds office for six years or until the age of ______, whichever is earlier.
2. The Joint State Public Service Commission is created by a law of ______.
3. The Public Service Commission in India was first set up in the year ______ on the recommendation of the Lee Commission.

Level 2: Prelims MCQs

Q1. Consider the following statements about the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission:

1. Its chairman and members are appointed by the Governor of Chhattisgarh.
2. Its chairman can be removed by the Governor on grounds of proved misbehaviour after an inquiry by the High Court.
3. Its annual report is laid before the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

• (a) 1 only
• (b) 1 and 3 only
• (c) 2 and 3 only
• (d) 1, 2 and 3

Q2. Match List I (Office held) with List II (Eligibility after leaving office under Article 319):

• (a) A-2, B-3, C-1, D-4
• (b) A-3, B-2, C-4, D-1
• (c) A-2, B-4, C-3, D-1
• (d) A-2, B-3, C-4, D-1

Q3. The Public Service Commission need not be consulted on which of the following?

• (a) Methods of recruitment to civil services
• (b) Disciplinary matters affecting a civil servant
• (c) Reservation of appointments for backward classes under Article 16(4)
• (d) Principles to be followed in making promotions

Q4. In which case did the Supreme Court hold that the requirement to consult the Public Service Commission under Article 320(3) is directory and not mandatory?

• (a) Indra Sawhney v. Union of India
• (b) State of U.P. v. Manbodhan Lal Srivastava
• (c) Union of India v. Tulsiram Patel
• (d) Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala

Level 3: Mains Answer Writing

Q1. (150–200 words) “Public Service Commissions are the watchdogs of the merit system, but their bark is louder than their bite.” Critically examine.

Q2. (60 words) Why can a member of a State Public Service Commission appointed by the Governor be removed only by the President?

Quick Revision Table

Key Takeaways

What’s Next

• Finance Commission — the last body in this chapter
• Public Administration — the civil services these commissions recruit
• Fundamental Rights — Article 16, the equality of opportunity the PSCs put into practice
• Constitutional and Statutory Bodies — Quick Revision