Union Public Service Commission
Note
Article 315 creates this body to recruit for all-India and central services. Removal protection under Article 317 (only the President acting on a Supreme Court inquiry report may remove a member) is the strongest tenure guarantee the Constitution gives any appointee, yet that independence is weakened because Article 320 advice on disciplinary matters remains merely advisory. Members serve six years or until age sixty-five under Article 316. Article 323 requires an annual report, with reasons for any non-acceptance of advice, laid before Parliament.
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Questions on this topic
Consider the following pairs regarding the constitutional provisions governing Public Service Commissions (PSCs) under Articles 315–323 of the Constitution of India:
- Establishment of a State Public Service Commission — Article 315
- Removal of Chairman/member of a State PSC — Order of the President on Supreme Court inquiry
- Conditions of service of PSC members — Cannot be varied to their disadvantage after appointment
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
Explanation
All three pairs are correctly matched. Article 315 provides for the establishment of a Public Service Commission for each State (and a Union Public Service Commission). Article 317 lays down that a member or Chairman of a State PSC can be removed only by an order of the President — not by the Governor or State government — and such removal must be preceded by an inquiry conducted by the Supreme Court; this is a deliberately insulated mechanism to protect PSCs from executive interference. Additionally, Article 318 (read with Article 322) provides that conditions of service of PSC members, once determined, cannot be varied to their disadvantage after appointment, ensuring independence of tenure. The constitutional insulation of PSC members — especially the requirement that removal must go through the President on a Supreme Court reference — becomes particularly significant when allegations of recruitment fraud are levelled against sitting members, since the State government cannot directly remove them.
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