UPSC & State Public Service Commissions — Articles 315–323 (UPSC Polity)
Composition & Appointment — UPSC and SPSC
🎯 Exam priority: Important. UPSC and SPSC run on the exact same Articles (315–323), so examiners test precisely where they diverge — the age limit (65 vs 62), who appoints (President vs Governor) versus who removes (always the President), and the post-retirement re-employment ladder, which gets more generous the further down the seniority chain you go. Learn that ladder cold — it's the single most repeated trap in this chapter.
Both the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and every state's State Public Service Commission (SPSC) are independent constitutional bodies — created directly by the Constitution itself, not by any later law. Articles 315 to 323 in Part XIV govern both identically, unless the text specifically distinguishes them.
Composition & Appointment
UPSC's chairman and members are appointed by the President; an SPSC's, by the state's Governor. Neither body has a constitutionally fixed strength — that's left to the President's (or Governor's) discretion — and the Constitution prescribes no formal qualifications at all, beyond requiring that at least half the members have held office for 10+ years under the Government of India or a state government.
Term: 6 years, or an age limit, whichever comes first — 65 for UPSC, but only 62 for an SPSC (originally 60, raised by the 41st Amendment, 1976). Either may resign early by writing to their respective appointing authority. If the chairman's post falls vacant, or the chairman can't function, the President (or Governor) may name a sitting member as acting chairman until a permanent one takes over.
Removal — Always the President, Never the Governor
Here's the sharpest asymmetry in the whole chapter: even though a Governor appoints an SPSC's chairman and members, only the President can ever remove them.
Removal — Always the President, Never the Governor
For both UPSC and every SPSC, only the President can remove a chairman or member — on three direct grounds: being adjudged insolvent; taking up paid employment outside their official duties during their term; or being, in the President's own opinion, unfit to continue by reason of physical or mental infirmity.
A fourth ground — misbehaviour — needs a heavier process: the President must refer the matter to the Supreme Court for an inquiry, and the Court's advice on removal is binding on the President (the President may suspend the member while that inquiry runs — the Governor can do this pending suspension for an SPSC member, though the final removal order still has to come from the President). The Constitution itself defines "misbehaviour" narrowly: being interested/concerned in a government contract, or sharing in its profits other than as an ordinary shareholder alongside other shareholders of an incorporated company.
Independence Safeguards & the Post-Retirement Ladder
Security of tenure, funding independence, and one especially tricky rule: what a member is allowed to do after leaving office varies by exactly which seat they held.
Independence Safeguards & the Post-Retirement Ladder
Both bodies share the same core protections: security of tenure (removable only as above); service conditions that can't worsen after appointment; and all expenses — salaries, allowances, pensions, even staff costs — charged on the Consolidated Fund (of India for UPSC, of the state for an SPSC), so neither needs an annual legislative vote. Neither a UPSC nor an SPSC chairman/member gets a second term in that same office once their first term ends.
What they can do next, though, forms a genuine ladder — narrowest at the top, widest at the bottom:
Outgoing office | Eligible for | NOT eligible for |
UPSC Chairman | Nothing further | Any other Government of India or state government employment |
UPSC Member | Chairman of UPSC, or Chairman of any SPSC | Any other Government of India or state government employment |
SPSC Chairman | Chairman/Member of UPSC, or Chairman of any other SPSC | Any other Government of India or state government employment |
SPSC Member | Chairman/Member of UPSC, or Chairman of that SPSC or any other SPSC | Any other Government of India or state government employment |
The pattern: a UPSC chairman has the most restrictive future (nothing at all); everyone else can still move sideways or up within the Commission system, just never into an unrelated government post — precisely designed so a retiring member never has an incentive to curry favour with the executive.
Functions, Limitations & Real-World Role
Both Commissions exist to recruit, and to be independently consulted — but their advice doesn't bind anyone, and several categories of appointment bypass them entirely.
Functions, Limitations & Real-World Role
UPSC conducts exams for the All-India Services (IAS/IPS/IFoS) and Central services, can help two-or-more states run a joint recruitment scheme on request, and can serve one state's needs directly on that Governor's request (with Presidential approval). An SPSC does the equivalent for that state's own services alone. Both are consulted (advisory only — not binding) on recruitment methods, appointment/promotion/transfer principles, disciplinary matters, legal-expense reimbursement claims, and injury-pension claims for civil servants — plus SPSCs are also consulted on judicial-service appointments below district-judge rank, alongside the concerned High Court.
The Supreme Court has held that skipping UPSC/SPSC consultation is irregular but not fatal — it doesn't invalidate the government's decision (the provision is directory, not mandatory), and a UPSC/SPSC recommendation itself confers no vested right to the post — government must simply act fairly, without arbitrariness or bad faith. Parliament can widen UPSC's jurisdiction (e.g. over a statutory corporation's staff); a state legislature can do the same for its SPSC.
Neither Commission is consulted on: reservations for backward classes; SC/ST appointment claims; short-term/officiating posts (under a year, where a reference would cause undue delay); most Group C/D Central posts; heads of boards/commissions/tribunals; or diplomatic postings abroad. The President (for UPSC) or Governor (for an SPSC) may exempt further matters by regulation — the UPSC/SPSC (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations, 1958 onward — but any such regulation must be laid before Parliament/the state legislature for at least 14 days, which can amend or repeal it.
Both Commissions are, by design, the "watch-dog of the merit system" — recruitment and advisory only, never classification of services, pay, cadre management or training (that's the Department of Personnel and Training's job centrally, or a state's Personnel/General Administration Department). Since the Central Vigilance Commission (1964) and equivalent State Vigilance Commissions also get consulted on disciplinary matters, conflicting advice can arise — but a Commission's constitutional status gives it the edge, since a Vigilance Commission is a comparatively junior, executive-created body.
A Joint State Public Service Commission (JSPSC) can serve two or more states together — but unlike the UPSC/SPSC themselves, it is created by an Act of Parliament (on the requesting states' request), making it a statutory, not constitutional, body; its members are still President-appointed, 6-year/62-year term, removable by the President.
Further Reading
Standard NCERT-level texts and reference books on the Indian Constitution and Polity (any UPSC reading list).
The Constitution of India (Bare Act) — Articles 315–323 (Part XIV).
Why UPSC Asks This
The age-limit contrast (65 UPSC / 62 SPSC) and the post-retirement re-employment ladder are the two most repeated precise-fact traps in this chapter.
"Governor appoints, but only the President removes" is a favourite "spot the exception" question — it breaks the usual appointer-removes-too pattern.
The JSPSC's statutory (not constitutional) status is a classic contrast against the otherwise-constitutional UPSC/SPSC.
Test Yourself: Practice Questions & PYQs
UPSC and SPSC practice — composition and appointment, the always-President removal process, the post-retirement re-employment ladder, and functions/limitations. Then Prelims-pattern PYQs.
Practice Questions
Q1. The chairman and members of the UPSC are appointed by:
(a) The Prime Minister
(b) The President
(c) Parliament, by resolution
(d) The Chief Justice of India
Show answer
Answer: (b) — Article 316 — the President appoints UPSC's chairman and members; a state Governor appoints an SPSC's.
Q2. The age limit for a member of the UPSC is 65 years, while for a member of an SPSC it is:
(a) 62 years
(b) 65 years, same as UPSC
(c) 60 years
(d) 63 years
Show answer
Answer: (a) — SPSC's age limit is 62 (raised from 60 by the 41st Amendment, 1976); UPSC's remains 65.
Q3. Although a Governor appoints the chairman and members of a State Public Service Commission, they can be removed only by:
(a) The Governor
(b) The President
(c) The Chief Justice of the High Court
(d) The state legislature, by resolution
Show answer
Answer: (b) — Removal power for BOTH UPSC and SPSC members rests solely with the President — a deliberate asymmetry from the appointing authority.
Q4. Which of the following is a ground on which the President can directly remove a UPSC member, without a Supreme Court inquiry?
(a) Misbehaviour
(b) Any ground the President personally considers sufficient
(c) Old age alone
(d) Being adjudged an insolvent
Show answer
Answer: (d) — Insolvency, outside paid employment, and infirmity are direct grounds; ONLY misbehaviour requires a mandatory, binding Supreme Court inquiry first.
Q5. On a charge of misbehaviour against a UPSC member, the Supreme Court's advice to the President on removal is:
(a) Merely advisory, and can be disregarded
(b) Binding only if unanimous among all judges
(c) Binding on the President
(d) Subject to a Presidential veto
Show answer
Answer: (c) — Unlike ordinary advice, the Supreme Court's finding in a misbehaviour inquiry is constitutionally binding on the President's removal decision.
Q6. On ceasing to hold office, a UPSC Chairman is eligible for:
(a) No further employment under the Government of India or any state
(b) Any further Government of India employment
(c) Appointment as Chairman of an SPSC only
(d) Reappointment as UPSC Chairman for a second term
Show answer
Answer: (a) — A UPSC Chairman faces the strictest post-retirement bar of any office in this chapter — no further government employment of any kind.
Q7. Which of the following, on ceasing to hold office, has the WIDEST range of further Commission appointments available to them?
(a) SPSC Chairman
(b) UPSC Chairman
(c) SPSC Member
(d) UPSC Member
Show answer
Answer: (c) — An SPSC Member may go on to become UPSC Chairman/Member, or Chairman of that very SPSC, or of any other SPSC — the widest ladder of the four.
Q8. The Supreme Court has held that a failure to consult the UPSC before a government decision:
(a) Automatically invalidates the decision
(b) Is a criminal offence
(c) Can only be cured by a fresh Presidential order
(d) Does not invalidate the decision, since the consultation requirement is directory, not mandatory
Show answer
Answer: (d) — Consultation with the UPSC is directory, not mandatory — a lapse is irregular but doesn't itself void the government's decision.
Q9. Which of the following matters is NOT within the UPSC's consultative jurisdiction?
(a) Disciplinary matters affecting a civil servant
(b) Reimbursement of legal expenses of a civil servant in an official-duty case
(c) Reservation of appointments for backward classes
(d) Principles for promotion and transfer of civil servants
Show answer
Answer: (c) — Reservation-related decisions for backward classes are explicitly excluded from UPSC's consultative jurisdiction.
Q10. A Joint State Public Service Commission (JSPSC) is created by:
(a) An Act of Parliament, on the request of the concerned state legislatures
(b) A direct provision of the Constitution, exactly like the UPSC
(c) An executive order of the President with no legislative involvement
(d) An agreement between the concerned Governors alone
Show answer
Answer: (a) — Unlike UPSC/SPSC (constitutional bodies), a JSPSC is a STATUTORY body, created by a Parliamentary Act on the requesting states' initiative.
Q11. Any regulation exempting matters from UPSC consultation must be laid before Parliament for a minimum of:
(a) 7 days
(b) 30 days
(c) 6 months
(d) 14 days
Show answer
Answer: (d) — The UPSC (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations, like all such regulations, must be laid before Parliament for at least 14 days, during which it can be amended or repealed.
Q12. The body responsible for classification of services, pay, cadre management and training — matters OUTSIDE the UPSC's role — is the:
(a) Staff Selection Commission
(b) Department of Personnel and Training
(c) Ministry of Home Affairs
(d) Central Vigilance Commission
Show answer
Answer: (b) — UPSC is purely a recruiting/advisory body; the Department of Personnel and Training is India's central PERSONNEL agency, handling everything UPSC does not.
UPSC Previous Year Questions (PYQs)
Pattern: UPSC vs SPSC composition/age-limit contrasts; the appoint-vs-remove asymmetry; misbehaviour-removal's mandatory Supreme Court inquiry; excluded-from-consultation matters; the post-retirement eligibility ladder; JSPSC's statutory status.
Q13. Consider the following statements: (1) The strength of the Union Public Service Commission is fixed by the Constitution at eleven members. (2) At least one-half of the Commission's members must have held office for ten years or more under the Union or a state government. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 2 only
(b) Neither 1 nor 2
(c) 1 only
(d) Both 1 and 2
Show answer
Answer: (a) — Statement 1 is wrong — the Constitution fixes no number; the President decides UPSC's strength. Statement 2 correctly states the one qualification the Constitution does impose.
Q14. With reference to the removal of a member of a Public Service Commission on the ground of misbehaviour, which of the following is correct?
(a) No removal on the ground of misbehaviour is constitutionally possible
(b) Parliament must pass a special-majority resolution, exactly as for a High Court judge
(c) The matter must be referred to the Supreme Court, whose advice is binding on the President
(d) The Governor alone decides, without any judicial reference
Show answer
Answer: (c) — A binding Supreme Court inquiry is the constitutionally mandated route for a misbehaviour-based removal, for both UPSC and SPSC members.
Q15. Which of the following appointments does NOT fall within the UPSC's consultative jurisdiction?
(a) Appointment of Heads of Indian diplomatic missions abroad
(b) Disciplinary proceedings against a civil servant
(c) Reimbursement of legal expenses to a civil servant
(d) Promotion of a civil servant within the same service
Show answer
Answer: (a) — Appointments of Ambassadors/High Commissioners and similar diplomatic heads are expressly excluded from UPSC's jurisdiction.
Q16. A member of a State Public Service Commission, upon completing their term, is eligible to be appointed as:
(a) A Minister in the state government
(b) Any Government of India post of their choosing
(c) A District Collector
(d) Chairman or Member of the UPSC, or Chairman of that SPSC or any other SPSC
Show answer
Answer: (d) — SPSC members retain a genuine ladder into the wider Commission system, but never into unrelated government employment.
Q17. The 41st Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976 is significant for the SPSC because it:
(a) Transferred SPSC's removal power to the Governor
(b) Created the office of SPSC Chairman for the first time
(c) Abolished the Joint State Public Service Commission
(d) Raised the age limit for SPSC members from 60 to 62 years
Show answer
Answer: (d) — The 41st Amendment (1976) raised the SPSC age limit from 60 to 62 years, distinguishing it from UPSC's unchanged 65.
Q18. Which statement correctly describes the constitutional status of a Joint State Public Service Commission?
(a) It is a constitutional body created directly by Article 315, exactly like the UPSC
(b) It is a purely advisory, non-statutory body with no legal status
(c) It is created by a Presidential Ordinance only
(d) It is a statutory body created by an Act of Parliament
Show answer
Answer: (d) — Unlike the constitutionally-created UPSC and SPSC, a JSPSC exists only because Parliament passed a law creating it — a statutory body.
Mains Practice Questions
Use these to frame full-length answers. You don't have to answer one exactly — they show the angles UPSC tests, so let them guide which points you cover.
Compare the composition and term of office of the UPSC with that of a State Public Service Commission.
Why can only the President — never a Governor — remove a member of a State Public Service Commission, even though the Governor appointed them?
Trace the post-retirement re-employment restrictions on outgoing UPSC and SPSC chairmen and members.
Discuss the functions of the UPSC and the categories of appointment kept outside its jurisdiction.
Distinguish the constitutional status of the UPSC/SPSC from that of a Joint State Public Service Commission.
Examine the Supreme Court's position on the legal effect of failing to consult the UPSC before a government decision.