Types of Bodies in Indian Polity

Master Quick-Reference Table

Type	Basis of creation / meaning	Examples
Constitutional	Established directly by, or derives its powers from, the Constitution itself.	ECI (Art 324), UPSC (315–323), CAG (148), Finance Commission (280), AG (76), NCSC/NCST (338/338A), NCBC (338B), GST Council (279A)
Statutory	Created by a specific Act of Parliament / State legislature.	NHRC (1993), CIC (RTI 2005), NGT (2010), Lokpal (2013), CVC (2003), SEBI, RBI, UGC, NABARD, CCI, TRAI, IRDAI, FSSAI, AERB (from 2025)
Executive / non-statutory	Created by an executive order / Cabinet resolution / govt. notification — no dedicated Act.	NITI Aayog (2015), erstwhile Planning Commission, National Development Council, CBI, Cabinet Committees
Regulatory	Function-based: licenses, sets rules for & polices a sector. Usually statutory.	RBI, SEBI, TRAI, IRDAI, CCI, PFRDA, CERC, FSSAI, BIS, AERB
Quasi-judicial	Function-based: adjudicates disputes / imposes penalties like a court, but is not a court.	NHRC, NGT, CIC, SEBI, CCI, Consumer Commissions, Lokpal, CAT, ITAT
Extra-constitutional	Not mentioned in the Constitution (often used together with ‘non-statutory’).	NITI Aayog, NDC, Kitchen Cabinet, Cabinet Committees

A.  Constitutional Bodies

Definition:  A body established directly by the Constitution, or one whose powers, composition and functions are laid down in the Constitution. It is the highest tier — the strongest form of institutional authority.

Key features

• Cannot be abolished or fundamentally altered without a constitutional amendment.
• Enjoys the highest independence and security of tenure (removal usually mirrors that of a Supreme Court judge).
• A mere law or executive order cannot override it.

Examples

• Election Commission of India — Art. 324
• UPSC / State PSCs — Arts. 315–323
• CAG — Art. 148 | Finance Commission — Art. 280
• Attorney General — Art. 76 | Advocate General (State) — Art. 165
• NCSC (338), NCST (338A), NCBC (338B), Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities (350B), GST Council (279A)

B.  Statutory Bodies

Definition:  A body created by a specific Act of Parliament or a State legislature. Its structure, powers and mandate are written into that statute — hence its authority flows from law, not from the Constitution.

Key features

• Can be created, modified or dissolved by ordinary legislation (no amendment needed).
• Powers are defined and limited by the parent Act; often given quasi-judicial and/or regulatory functions.
• A body can be upgraded from statutory to constitutional — e.g., NCBC (statutory 1993 → constitutional via the 102nd Amendment, 2018, Art. 338B).

Examples

• Rights / watchdogs: NHRC & SHRCs (PHR Act, 1993), NCW (1990), CIC & SICs (RTI Act, 2005), CVC (CVC Act, 2003), Lokpal & Lokayuktas (Act, 2013), NGT (Act, 2010)
• Economic / sectoral: RBI (1934), SEBI (1992), UGC (1956), NABARD, CCI (2002), TRAI (1997), IRDAI (1999), PFRDA (2013), FSSAI (2006)
• Now statutory: AERB — given statutory status by the SHANTI Act, 2025 (see live example on the last page).

C.  Executive / Non-Statutory Bodies

Definition:  A body created by an executive act of the government — a Cabinet resolution, an order or a notification — rather than by a statute or the Constitution. Also called a non-statutory body. If it is also absent from the Constitution, it is additionally ‘extra-constitutional’.

Key features

• Easiest to create and to wind up — the same executive that made it can reorganise or abolish it.
• Generally has weaker independence and is not directly accountable to Parliament through a parent Act.
• Often advisory or coordinating in nature.

Examples

• NITI Aayog — created by Union Cabinet resolution, 1 Jan 2015 (extra-constitutional + non-statutory).
• Planning Commission (1950, resolution) and the National Development Council — its predecessors.
• CBI — set up by a Home Ministry resolution (1963); it is not a statutory body, though it draws police powers from the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.
• Cabinet Committees, Kitchen Cabinet — extra-constitutional bodies with no legal recognition.

D.  Regulatory Bodies (a function, not an origin)

Definition:  A body whose job is to oversee, license, set standards for and enforce rules within a specific sector — protecting consumers, ensuring fair competition and safety. ‘Regulatory’ describes what it does; most (not all) are statutory in origin.

Key features

• Combines rule-making (legislative-like), enforcement (executive-like) and dispute-settlement (quasi-judicial) powers.
• Independence from the sector it regulates is essential — which is why statutory backing matters.

Examples by sector

Sector	Regulator
Banking / monetary	RBI
Securities markets	SEBI
Telecom	TRAI
Insurance	IRDAI
Competition / anti-trust	Competition Commission of India (CCI)
Pensions	PFRDA
Electricity	CERC / SERCs
Food safety	FSSAI
Atomic / radiation safety	AERB (statutory from 2025)

Self-regulatory bodies:  A sub-type where an industry regulates itself, often without statutory force — e.g., ASCI (advertising), BCCI (cricket). Contrast with statutory regulators above.

E.  Quasi-Judicial Bodies  (a function, not an origin)

Definition:  A body that performs court-like functions — it hears parties, examines evidence, and passes binding, reasoned orders or penalties — but is not a regular court. It follows simpler, more flexible procedures.

Key features

• Adjudicates within a defined domain; its decisions are appealable to higher courts.
• Must observe natural justice (fair hearing) and record reasons for its decisions.
• Many regulators and commissions carry quasi-judicial powers in addition to their main role.

Examples

• NHRC, NGT, CIC (information disputes), Consumer Commissions (District/State/National).
• SEBI, CCI (penalties), Lokpal, CAT, Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal.
• Even the Election Commission and the President exercise limited quasi-judicial functions (disqualifications, clemency).

Commonly Confused Pairs

Pair	The distinction
UPSC vs CVC	UPSC is constitutional (Arts. 315–323); CVC is statutory (given legal status by the CVC Act, 2003).
Finance Commission vs NITI Aayog	Finance Commission is constitutional (Art. 280); NITI Aayog is executive/non-statutory (Cabinet resolution, 2015).
NHRC vs Consumer Commission	Both statutory & quasi-judicial — but NHRC is largely recommendatory, while Consumer Commissions pass binding, enforceable orders.
CBI vs SEBI	CBI is non-statutory (resolution + DSPE Act powers); SEBI is statutory (SEBI Act, 1992).
NCBC: before vs after 2018	Statutory (1993) → Constitutional (102nd Amendment, 2018, Art. 338B).
‘Statutory’ vs ‘Regulatory’	Different lenses — statutory = how it was born (a law); regulatory = what it does (polices a sector). A body can be both.

30-Second Memory Hooks

Origin ladder:  Constitution → Statute → Executive order. The higher you sit, the harder you are to remove.

One-liners:  “Constitutional = born of the Constitution. Statutory = born of a law. Executive/non-statutory = born of an order.” Then ask separately: “What does it DO?” → regulatory / quasi-judicial / advisory.

Trap-buster:  If a question offers ‘statutory’ and ‘regulatory’ as if they were opposites, it is testing whether you know they are different lenses. RBI/SEBI are both.