Comment: Union Public Service Commission. (2003, 20 Marks)
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), constituted under Article 315, is the constitutional recruiting agency of the Union and the “watchdog of the merit system”. It enters its centenary in October 2026 with a paradox intact: its members are insulated almost like judges, yet its advice binds no one.
Origin
The Lee Commission (1924) recommended the body that Section 96C of the Government of India Act, 1919 had authorised. A Public Service Commission followed on 1 October 1926. The 1935 Act created the Federal Public Service Commission, which became the UPSC with constitutional status on 26 January 1950. It was advisory from the start, and remains so.
Design and independence (Art. 315–323)
- Art. 316: the President appoints members for six years or until age 65. As nearly as may be half must have ten years of government service.
- Art. 317: removal for misbehaviour requires a Supreme Court inquiry on presidential reference, a judicial rather than political process.
- Art. 318–319: conditions of service cannot be varied to a member’s disadvantage, and a chairman is barred from any further government employment.
- Art. 322: the Commission’s expenses are charged on the Consolidated Fund.
The gap is appointment: the executive chooses alone, unlike the Election Commission’s statutory selection committee.
Functions and their advisory character
- Art. 320(1): it conducts examinations for the All India and Central Services.
- Art. 320(3): it must be consulted on recruitment methods, promotions, transfers, disciplinary matters and injury pensions.
- Exclusions: the proviso lets the President exclude matters by regulation (the Exemption from Consultation Regulations, 1958), which are laid before Parliament under Art. 320(5). Reservation policy is excluded under Art. 320(4).
- Non-binding advice: in State of U.P. v. Manbodhan Lal Srivastava (1957) the Court held consultation to be directory, not mandatory. The only sanction is Art. 323, an annual report with a memorandum explaining non-acceptance, which Parliament rarely examines.
Theoretical lens
The UPSC institutionalises Max Weber’s legal-rational bureaucracy: office by tested qualification, not patronage. J. Donald Kingsley’s idea of representative bureaucracy qualifies that ideal. Merit measured by a single examination can reproduce social privilege, which is why reservations sit beside the Commission and why exam design is politically contested.
Issues
- Delay and design: the Civil Services cycle takes over a year. The Kothari Committee (1976) set the three-stage format; the P. C. Hota (2004) and B. S. Baswan (2016) committees urged a lower entry age, yet the upper age limit has never been lowered.
- CSAT: introduced in 2011, it was attacked in 2014 as biased against Hindi-medium and humanities candidates, and was made merely qualifying (33%) from 2015. A parliamentary standing committee asked for a review again in March 2026.
- Lateral entry: the UPSC ran selections from 2018. In August 2024 it withdrew an advertisement for 45 posts days after publishing it, at the government’s request, amid a reservation row. It advertised and withdrew on instruction.
- Integrity: the Puja Khedkar case (2024) ended in cancellation and a permanent debarment. It exposed late verification, and the Commission responded with Aadhaar authentication and facial recognition at venues. State commissions fare worse: a former Chhattisgarh PSC chairman was arrested by the CBI in November 2024.
- Bypassing: most central hiring now flows through the Staff Selection Commission, contract posts and consultancies.
Conclusion
By the test that matters most, the UPSC is India’s most successful watchdog, because entry to the higher civil services has not become purchasable. Its authority rests on institutional culture and legitimacy, not binding power. Collegial appointment, time-bound disclosure of rejected advice and a settled exam design would help secure the next century of the Commission under Dr Ajay Kumar, Chairman since May 2025.