Indian Polity Quiz: UPSC and State Public Service Commissions

The correct answer is D, only 3. The chairman of the Union Public Service Commission is removed by the President under Article 317, and for misbehaviour only after the Supreme Court has held an inquiry on the President's reference and reported against him. No resolution of either House is needed at any stage, so Parliament has no role at all. Judges of the High Courts and of the Supreme Court, listed at 1 and 2, are removed by the President only after an address supported by a special majority of each House, so Parliament is central there. The Comptroller and Auditor General at 4 is removed in the same manner as a judge of the Supreme Court, which again requires an address by both Houses. Options A, B and C are wrong because each of them leaves out the UPSC chairman or wrongly brings in the judges or the CAG.

The correct answer is A, six years or the age of sixty-five, whichever is earlier. Article 316(2) says that a member of the Union Public Service Commission holds office for a term of six years from the date on which he enters upon his office, or until he attains the age of sixty-five years, whichever is earlier. Option B gives the right term but the wrong age: sixty-two is the age limit for a member of a State Public Service Commission or of a Joint Public Service Commission, and mixing the two is the commonest mistake in this question. Option C is wrong because the term is six years and not five. Option D is wrong on both counts, since neither a four-year term nor a combination of four years with sixty-two years appears anywhere in Article 316.

The correct answer is D, the Uttar Pradesh State Legislature. Article 321 allows additional functions to be conferred on a Public Service Commission, and it names two different authorities for the two kinds of Commission: Parliament may extend the functions of the Union Public Service Commission, while the legislature of a state may extend the functions of that state's Public Service Commission. The functions of the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission are therefore extended by an Act of the Uttar Pradesh legislature. Option A is wrong because the Prime Minister has no such power under the Constitution. Option B is wrong because a Union ministry cannot legislate for a state Commission. Option C is wrong because the President appoints, removes and frames conditions of service, but extending functions is a legislative act under Article 321.

The correct answer is C, the President, after an enquiry conducted by the Supreme Court. Article 317(1) provides that the chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission, whether of the Union or of a state, shall be removed from office only by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour, and only after the Supreme Court has held an inquiry on a reference made by the President and reported that he ought to be removed. Options A, B and D all put the power in the Governor's hands, which is the standard trap: the Governor appoints a member of a State Commission and may suspend him while the inquiry is pending, but he cannot remove him. There is no impeachment by the Vidhan Sabha for this office, so A is doubly wrong, and D wrongly substitutes the High Court for the Supreme Court.

The correct answer is B, Article 315. It is the opening article of the group on Public Service Commissions and says that there shall be a Public Service Commission for the Union and a Public Service Commission for each state, with the further provision that two or more states may have a Joint Commission created by Parliament on their request. Option A, Article 312, deals with the creation of All India Services by Parliament on a resolution of the Rajya Sabha, which is a different matter altogether. Option C, Article 320, lists the functions of the Commissions, such as conducting examinations and being consulted on recruitment and disciplinary matters, but it does not constitute them. Option D, Article 324, sets up the Election Commission of India and has nothing to do with the Public Service Commissions.

The correct answer is B, charged on the Consolidated Fund of India. Article 322 makes the expenses of the Union Public Service Commission, including the salaries, allowances and pensions payable to or in respect of its members and staff, charged expenditure on the Consolidated Fund of India. Charged expenditure can be discussed in Parliament but is not submitted to its vote, which keeps the legislature from squeezing the Commission's budget and is one of the guarantees of its independence. Option A is therefore wrong, as voting is exactly what Article 322 avoids. Option C is wrong because the Contingency Fund is an imprest placed with the President for unforeseen expenditure, not a standing source for a constitutional body. Option D is wrong because a state's Commission is paid from that state's Consolidated Fund and the UPSC from the Union's, with no sharing.

The correct answer is C, the Governor, who causes it to be laid before the legislature of the state. Article 323(2) requires a State Commission to present to the Governor an annual report of the work done by it, and the Governor then places it before the state legislature together with a memorandum explaining the cases, if any, in which the Commission's advice was not accepted and the reasons for it. Option A describes the arrangement for the Union Public Service Commission, whose report goes to the President and then to Parliament, so it is the standard distractor. Option B is wrong because the report is a constitutional submission to the head of the state, not to the head of the council of ministers. Option D is wrong because the State Commissions are independent of the UPSC and do not report to it.

The correct answer is B, sixty-two years. Article 316(2) fixes a six-year term for every Public Service Commission but two different retiring ages: sixty-five years for a member of the Union Public Service Commission and sixty-two years for a member of a State Commission or of a Joint Commission, and in each case the earlier of the two events ends the term. Option A, sixty years, is the usual age of superannuation for many government servants and is put in to mislead. Option C, sixty-five years, is correct for the UPSC and is the most tempting wrong answer here, so read the question carefully to see which Commission is being asked about. Option D, seventy years, belongs to no Public Service Commission at all; it is the retiring age fixed for a judge of the Supreme Court.

The correct answer is C, making the final appointment of selected candidates. The Commission recommends; the appointing authority of the government issues the appointment. Article 320 gives the Commission the duty of conducting examinations for appointments to the services of the Union and of the states, which covers option A, and requires that it be consulted on methods of recruitment and on the principles to be followed in making appointments, promotions and transfers, which covers option B. It also requires consultation on all disciplinary matters affecting a person serving the government in a civil capacity, including memorials and petitions relating to them, which covers option D. Because the Commission's role ends with advice, and that advice does not even bind the government, option C states a power it does not have.

The correct answer is B, by an Act of Parliament on a request made by the legislatures of the states concerned. Article 315(2) says that if the legislatures of two or more states pass resolutions to that effect, Parliament may by law provide for the appointment of a Joint State Public Service Commission to serve the needs of those states. The chairman and members of such a Commission are appointed by the President, and it presents its annual report to the Governor of each state. Option A is wrong because the initiative must come from the state legislatures and the instrument must be a law of Parliament, not an executive order. Option C is wrong because Governors have no power to create a constitutional body. Option D is wrong because the UPSC has no authority to set up another Commission, and Article 315(4) only lets it serve a state on the Governor's request with the President's approval.

The correct answer is B, the Lee Commission. The Royal Commission on the Superior Civil Services in India, headed by Lord Lee of Fareham and reporting in 1924, recommended the setting up of a statutory Public Service Commission, and the first Public Service Commission in India was accordingly established on 1 October 1926 under the Government of India Act, 1919. Under the Government of India Act, 1935 it became the Federal Public Service Commission, and on 26 January 1950 the Union Public Service Commission. Option A is wrong because the Islington Commission of 1912 to 1915 examined the public services but did not bring the Commission into being. Option C is wrong because the Simon Commission of 1928 examined constitutional reform. Option D is wrong because the Sapru Committee belongs to a later constitutional debate altogether.

The correct answer is C, Article 319. It bars the holding of certain offices after a member ceases to be one, and its first clause makes a retiring chairman of the Union Public Service Commission ineligible for any further employment either under the Government of India or under a state government. Within the same article a UPSC member other than the chairman may be appointed chairman of the UPSC or of a State Commission but nothing more, and a State chairman may become chairman or member of the UPSC or chairman of another State Commission. Option A is wrong because Article 317 deals with removal and suspension. Option B is wrong because Article 318 empowers the President or the Governor to make regulations on the number of members and the conditions of service. Option D is wrong because Article 322 charges the Commission's expenses on the Consolidated Fund.