Topic: Constitutional posts, Constitutional Bodies, Statutory, Regulatory and Quasi-judicial Bodies
Q1. Election Commission of India is the sole institution responsible for the conduct of free and fair elections. Discuss the challenges faced by this body. (10 marks)
Model Structure
Introduction
- Use of money, violence and electoral malpractices has increased with time, which has resulted in criminalisation of politics. Free and fair elections are a part of the basic structure of the Constitution, and the Election Commission is responsible for it. OR
- Election Commission of India is a constitutional body formed under Article 324 of the Indian Constitution.
Main Body
- There is a rampant use of money and muscle power and the Election Commission of India has been unable to prevent this challenge due to reasons like-
- There are cases of unattended voting machines which spring up after every election and create trust deficit between voters as a whole and the Election Commission as an institution.
- Appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and other two commissioners is not robust and transparent which affects the independence of the institution.
- Inner-party democracy and financial regulation of parties is a big issue which the ECI has not been able to address due to lack of powers.
- There is no bar on post-retirement appointments of election commissioners and they can also join any political party after retirement. This affects the independence and decision-making of the body.
- Before elections, there is abuse of power by the state government which makes many transfers to post corrigible officials in key positions for getting advantage.
Conclusion
To ensure elections are conducted in free and fair manners, Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail System (VVPAT) must be there in all constituencies and their model code of conduct must have a legal backing for proper punishment in case of violations.
Q2. Corruption is the biggest threat to inclusive development in India. In this regard, enumerate the role and functions of the Central Vigilance Commission. What provisions ensure the independence of CVC? (10 marks)
Model Structure
Introduction
- Established in 1964 by an executive resolution of the Santhanam Committee, CVC is an apex governmental body in India that is responsible for addressing issues related to corruption and promoting transparency and integrity in public administration. (Background and role-based)
Main Body
Role and functions of CVC
- Inquiry or investigation against an alleged employee of the Central Government for an offense under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (PoCA).
- Superintendence over the functioning of CBI and giving directions to CBI related to investigating offenses under the PoCA.
- Superintendence over the vigilance administration in the ministries of the Central Government.
- Notified as a specific authority to receive information on suspicious transactions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
- Making preliminary inquiry into complaints referred by Lokpal in respect of officials of Groups A, B, C & D.
- Sensitization of citizens: Steps like vigilance week and integrity pledge help to generate awareness about the ill effects of corruption.
Provisions to ensure independence
- The President appoints the Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) based on the recommendation of a three-member committee consisting of the Prime Minister, Home Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
- The CVC can be removed from office only by the President, and this can only be done on the grounds mentioned in the statute.
- The CVC has a fixed tenure of 4 years or until the age of 65, whichever comes earlier. Additionally, they are ineligible for further employment under the Central or a state government.
- The salary, allowances, and service conditions of the CVC are similar to that of the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for the Chief Vigilance Commissioner and similar to that of a member of the UPSC for the Vigilance Commissioners.
- The CVC has its own independent staff, including a Secretariat, a Chief Technical Examiners’ Wing, and a wing of Commissioners for Departmental Inquiries.
Conclusion
Mahatma Gandhi once said, "Corruption and hypocrisy ought not to be inevitable products of democracy, as they undoubtedly are today." CVC plays a pivotal role in curbing this menace that Mahatma Gandhi had warned about.
Q3. The National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes have been in existence for a long time. Discuss whether they have been effective in addressing issues of discrimination prevalent in society. (15 marks)
Model Structure
Introduction
- The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) are both constitutional bodies formed under Article 338A and 338B by the 89th Constitutional Amendment Act.
Main Body
- Their mandate is to monitor existing safeguards provided for SC and STs under the Constitution or a law, give advice on planning related to socio-economic development of SC/STs and inquire into complaints related to their safeguards. Their success is reflected by
- reduction in literacy gap, especially that of SC/ST women.
- Health indicators like IMR and MMR, and education indicators like enrollment ratio and outcomes, have also increased. This is reflected in data provided by the Sample Registration System.
- As per the Tata Institute of Social Sciences report, their ownership of houses and basic amenities has also increased.
- Also, representation of this group in legislatures and services has increased.
- Though many issues are addressed as evident from data, many of them still remain like-
- Cases filed under SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act have increased as per data given by NCRB.
- Huge pendency in complaints with both commissions show slow pace of justice.
- There are cases of discrimination in best of the institutes, which show even education has not helped get rid of caste-based discrimination.
- There are a lot of incidents of forceful eviction of forest dwellers without adequate compensation.
- Mob lynching and targeted killings with a lethargic justice system affects trust building between the public and authorities.
Conclusion
Both bodies have constitutional status, which points to their importance but to ensure they work as per their mandate, reforms are needed like binding recommendations, timely disposal of complaints and timely appointments.
Q4. Quasi-judicial bodies are important organs of governance. Explain their role and features. Also discuss the issues associated with them. (15 marks)
Model Structure
Introduction:
- Quasi-judicial bodies have functions similar to a court of law or a tribunal but they themselves are not part of the judicial hierarchy. Their powers are limited to specific areas of operation like administration, financial market, minorities etc.
Main body:
- They are important in governance because-
- These bodies do not follow conventional lengthy procedures of jurisprudence and thus make the process simple to understand.
- Lessen caseload on the judiciary and help address the issue of case pendency.
- Purpose of justice upheld as the public are hesitant to approach courts for want of time and money. But in the case of quasi-judicial bodies, better access and affordable justice make it easy for aggrieved citizens.
- They are manned by experts rather than generalists thus making the process expeditious.
- Their role and features include-
- They are created for a specific purpose, making them ‘issue specific’. Eg- Central Administrative Tribunal, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Election Commission etc.
- Their nature can be different. For instance, the Finance Commission is a constitutional body, SEBI is a regulatory body and NHRC is a statutory body.
- They can include subject experts also apart from judges allowing for technical expertise.
- Their decisions are subject to judicial review.
- They are affordable, accessible and more effective for the common man.
- Issues involved-
- Vacancies are a major issue of these bodies which delays decision making.
- Pendency of cases seen in tribunals is also due to the large volume of false cases.
- Provision of making available free legal aid for weaker parties, not provided for like in NALSA, making the process disadvantageous.
- Independence of these bodies is an issue as many appointments are at the sole discretion of the executive.
- Most of the bodies are recommendatory in nature like NHRC and have no power to punish. They lack an enforcement mechanism and have no power to even enforce award compensation.
Conclusion
Formed to reduce the burden on the judiciary, they are now themselves subject to vacancies and a high case burden. It is time to bring in laws to allow transparent appointment processes and reduce vacancies which will expedite the disposal of cases.
Q5. There is a plethora of regulatory bodies for each sector to ensure compliance with rules and regulations. Discuss the role of these bodies and the issues involved in their functioning. (15 marks)
Model Structure
Introduction
- Regulatory bodies are independent government bodies formed to set standards in a particular field, and they also help to enforce those standards. They ensure business is done responsibly and the interests of all stakeholders are kept in mind. In case of non-compliance, they have the powerthe power to take action against the erring organisation or group.
Main Body
- The governments at both levels make laws and rules to ensure market participants comply with them and in case of violations, there are these regulatory bodies. Some examples include Reserve Bank of India, Small Industries and Development Bank of India, Competition Commission of India etc. Their role includes-
- Their roles in a nutshell include review, assessment, licensing, enforcement, inspection and regulation.
- Regulatory bodies which are well-empowered can give better results because of the expertise they carry. Like the Reserve Bank of India which has many times tackled liquidity crisis and inflation. Another example is SEBI which had tracked SATYAM and the recent NSE scam.
- Liberalisation of the economy in the 1990s was followed by giving sectoral governance to regulatory bodies which have since then created a constructive atmosphere and ensured a free and fair market.
- These bodies also provided incentives for private investments and allowed functional autonomy for smooth functioning.
- It improves overall ease of doing business and hence helps crowding-in private investments.
- But many times these bodies have not properly functioned as per their mandate due to issues like-
- Many times due to favouritism, non-experts are selected rather than domain experts which affects efficiency in their functioning.
- Populist measures by the party in power are prioritized over economic benefits which defeats the purpose of regulatory bodies. One example is government interventions in the functioning of the RBI.
- Conflict of interest when bureaucrats are appointed to head regulatory bodies like in case of ex-finance secretary as RBI governor.
- There is a review mechanism of overall functioning of regulatory bodies done under parliamentary committees, but it is found to be weak and inefficient.
- Their recommendations are not binding and are seldom implemented.
- Many regulatory bodies have overlapping functions which impact enforcement of the directions. Like the recent case of IRDAI and SEBI over insurance plans, or that between All India Council for Technical Education and University Grants Commission.
Conclusion
Regulatory bodies have a huge role to play in a dynamic economy, and to ensure they work efficiently, some steps can be taken, like transparent appointments, functional and financial autonomy, self-evaluation, and regulatory impact assessment, which is done by OECD countries.
