Part XIV & XIVA - Services and Tribunals • Article

Article 320 Simplified: Functions of Public Service Commissions

Article 320 (Functions of Public Service Commissions) governs the Public Service Commissions (like UPSC and State PSCs). It details their setup, appointment of members, functions, expenses, and annual reports, ensuring they remain independent bodies that select candidates based purely on merit.

Official Text

(1) It shall be the duty of the Union and the State Public Service Commissions to conduct examinations for appointments to the services of the Union and the services of the State respectively. (2) It shall also be the duty of the Union Public Service Commission, if requested by any two or more States so to do, to assist those States in framing and operating schemes of joint recruitment for any services for which candidates possessing special qualifications are required. (3) The Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission, as the case may be, shall be consulted— (a) on all matters relating to methods of recruitment to civil services and for civil posts; (b) on the principles to be followed in making appointments to civil services and posts and in making promotions and transfers from one service to another and on the suitability of candidates for such appointments, promotions or transfers; (c) on all disciplinary matters affecting a person serving under the Government of India or the Government of a State in a civil capacity, including memorials or petitions relating to such matters; (d) on any claim by or in respect of a person who is serving or has served under the Government of India or the Government of a State or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State, in a civil capacity, that any costs incurred by him in defending legal proceedings instituted against him in respect of acts done or purporting to be done in the execution of his duty should be paid out of the Consolidated Fund of India, or, as the case may be, out of the Consolidated Fund of the State; (e) on any claim for the award of a pension in respect of injuries sustained by a person while serving under the Government of India or the Government of a State or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State, in a civil capacity, and any question as to the amount of any such award, and it shall be the duty of a Public Service Commission to advise on any matter so referred to them and on any other matter which the President, or, as the case may be, the Governor *** of the State, may refer to them: Provided that the President as respects the all-India services and also as respects other services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union, and the Governor ***, as respects other services and posts in connection with the affairs of a State, may make regulations specifying the matters in which either generally, or in any particular class of case or in any particular circumstances, it shall not be necessary for a Public Service Commission to be consulted. (4) Nothing in clause (3) shall require a Public Service Commission to be consulted as respects the manner in which any provision referred to in clause (4) of article 16 may be made or as respects the manner in which effect may be given to the provisions of article 335. (5) All regulations made under the proviso to clause (3) by the President or the Governor *** of a State shall be laid for not less than fourteen days before each House of Parliament or the House or each House of the Legislature of the State, as the case may be, as soon as possible after they are made, and shall be subject to such modifications, whether by way of repeal or amendment, as both Houses of Parliament or the House or both Houses of the Legislature of the State may make during the session in which they are so laid.

Simple Meaning

Explain Like Ten

This rule says the exam boards' main job is to hold tests to pick government workers. The government also has to ask their advice on promotions, transfers, and when officers do something bad and need to be punished.

Student Mode

Prescribes the duties of Public Service Commissions: conducting recruitment examinations, assisting in joint recruitment schemes, and serving as a mandatory consultative body on recruitment methods, promotion principles, transfers, and disciplinary actions. It exempts SC/ST/OBC reservation consultations and requires all consultative exemptions to be laid before Parliament/State Legislatures.

Example

When public money is collected, shared, audited, or spent, Article 320 explains the constitutional rule behind functions of public service commissions.

Key Takeaway

Article 320 anchors functions of public service commissions within India's constitutional system.

FAQs

Are the recommendations of the UPSC binding on the government?

No. The functions of the UPSC are advisory. However, the government cannot ignore their advice lightly. Under Article 323, if the government rejects the Commission's advice, it must explain its reasons to Parliament.

Is the government required to consult the UPSC on reservation policies?

No. Article 320(4) explicitly states that the Public Service Commission does not need to be consulted regarding the manner in which reservations (under Article 16(4) or Article 335) are made for backward classes, SCs, or STs.

What is Joint Recruitment under Article 320?

If requested by two or more States, it is the duty of the UPSC to assist those States in framing and operating schemes of joint recruitment for services requiring special qualifications.

Can the government bypass consulting the PSC on disciplinary matters?

The President or Governor can make regulations specifying matters where consultation is not required, but these regulations must be laid before Parliament or the State Legislature for at least 14 days and are subject to modification.

Quiz

Which of the following is the primary duty of a Public Service Commission?

Answer: To conduct examinations for appointments to services

On which of the following matters is the Public Service Commission NOT required to be consulted?

Answer: Manner of making reservation provisions