Essay on the reports prepared by the Union Public Service Commission of India

The Union Public Service Commission has to submit to the President an annual report on the work done by the Commission. The report accompanied by a memorandum explaining the action taken by the Government on the recommendations of the Commission is to be placed before both the Houses of Parliament.

Similarly, a State Commission has to submit to the Governor an annual report which with the memorandum explaining the action taken by the State Government on the Commission’s recommendations is placed before the State Legislature.

The memorandum should explain the reasons for the non-acceptance of the recommendations of the Commission by the Government if there are any such cases.

It must be observed here that the Public Service Commissions envisaged under the Constitution including the U.P.S.C. are only advisory bodies. It might be asked why the recommendations of such an important body as the Public Service Commission are not obligatory on the Government.

The framers of the Constitution, in this respect, have followed the practice that obtained under the Constitution Act of 1935. Experience has shown that the recommendations of the Commission have more influence if they are advisory than mandatory in character.

The danger is that if the Commission is given mandatory powers there is possibility of conflict between the Commission and the Government and there may raise situations when they behave as rival governments in the same territory, each trying to establish its will over the other.

The real safeguard against the rejection of any recommendation of the Commission lies in the Parliamentary control that is provided for by the Constitution. The Government has to justify its action before the Legislature which has the power of repudiating the Government’s action.

The Public Service Commissions in India are in a much stronger position from a constitutional point of view than statutory bodies or Commissions set up in Britain or the United States. This is because these Commissions are set up by the same sovereign authority which sets up the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary.

All of them are created by the Constitution itself. But in Britain, the United States and elsewhere Public Service Commissions are the creations of the Legislature and, as such, the British Parliament and the United States Congress have the power to modify them as they like. In other words, they are subordinate bodies.

In India, the Public Service Commissions are in no way subordinate to the Legislature or the Executive. Thus, while a Public Service Commission would not ordinarily like to withhold information on any particular subject, its constitutional right to withhold any such information should be recognised.

Obviously, the Constitution-makers wanted to provide all reasonable safeguards to make the Public Service Commissions in India immune from all undue influence and to enable them to carry out their duties with impartiality, integrity and independence.