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Polity & Governance Statutory, Regulatory and Quasi-Judicial Bodies GS Paper II

Statutory and Regulatory Bodies — Quick Revision

One-page UPSC revision of statutory, regulatory and quasi-judicial bodies: parent Acts, selection committees, tenure, and constitutional vs statutory vs executive status.

SyllabusGS II · Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies

By UPSC Notes Editorial Team 3 min read Updated Oct 2026 #quick revision#polity#statutory-and-regulatory-bodies

A last-week sheet on statutory, regulatory and quasi-judicial bodies. Prelims tests the parent Act, the year and the selection committee.

Parent Acts and Years

BodyParent lawYear
RBIReserve Bank of India Act1934
DSPE (source of CBI’s powers)Delhi Special Police Establishment Act1946
NCWNational Commission for Women Act1990
SEBISEBI Act (body set up 1988)1992
NCMNational Commission for Minorities Act1992
NHRCProtection of Human Rights Act1993
TRAITRAI Act1997
IRDAIIRDA Act1999
CCICompetition Act2002
CVCCVC Act (body set up 1964)2003
NCPCRCommissions for Protection of Child Rights Act2005
FSSAIFood Safety and Standards Act2006
NGTNational Green Tribunal Act2010
LokpalLokpal and Lokayuktas Act2013
PFRDAPFRDA Act (body set up 2003)2013
IBBIInsolvency and Bankruptcy Code2016

Selection Committees

OfficeCommittee
NHRC Chairperson and membersPM, Lok Sabha Speaker, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman, LoOs of both Houses, Union Home Minister
CVC and Vigilance CommissionersPM, Union Home Minister, LoO in Lok Sabha
LokpalPM, Lok Sabha Speaker, LoO in Lok Sabha, CJI or nominee, eminent jurist
CBI DirectorPM, LoO (or leader of largest opposition party), CJI or nominee

Tenure

OfficeTerm
NHRC Chairperson / member3 years or 70 (2019 amendment)
CVC / Vigilance Commissioner4 years or 65
Lokpal Chairperson / member5 years or 70
CBI DirectorMinimum 2 years; extendable up to 5 years in total

High-Yield Facts

Most-tested lines
  • CBI: set up by resolution (1963) — not statutory; State consent under Section 6, DSPE Act.
  • CVC: Santhanam Committee → resolution 1964 → statutory 2003 (Vineet Narain, 1997).
  • NHRC: one-year limitation on complaints; recommendations advisory; Paris Principles.
  • SHRC: appointed by Governor, removed by President.
  • First Lokpal: Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, March 2019.
  • Articles 323A (Parliament only) and 323B (Parliament and States) — 42nd Amendment, 1976.
  • L. Chandra Kumar (1997): tribunal orders reviewable by a High Court division bench.

Constitutional, Statutory or Executive?

ConstitutionalStatutoryExecutive (resolution)
ECI, UPSC, CAG, Finance CommissionNHRC, CVC, LokpalCBI (1963)
NCSC, NCST, NCBCNCW, NCM, NCPCRNITI Aayog (2015)
GST CouncilSEBI, TRAI, CCI, IRDAIPlanning Commission (1950, now replaced)

Traps

  • NHRC chair can now be a former Supreme Court judge, not only a former CJI.
  • The CBI is not created by the DSPE Act; it only uses its powers.
  • SEBI and PFRDA existed before their Acts.
  • Quasi-judicial bodies remain under High Court and Supreme Court review.
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