A classification of public bodies by their legal source: constitutional bodies derive from the Constitution, statutory bodies from an Act of Parliament or a State legislature, and executive (non-statutory) bodies from a government order or resolution.
- Constitutional bodies are created directly by the Constitution; amending or abolishing them needs a constitutional amendment. Examples: Election Commission (Art 324), UPSC (Art 315), Finance Commission (Art 280), CAG (Art 148), Attorney General (Art 76), GST Council (Art 279A).
- Statutory bodies are created by ordinary law and can be modified by amending that law. Examples: NHRC (1993), CVC (2003), Lokpal (2013), NCW (1990), NIA, CIC (2005).
- Executive or non-statutory bodies arise from a Cabinet resolution or executive order, with no separate law. Examples: NITI Aayog (2015), the erstwhile Planning Commission, the CBI's broad existence (it derives from the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, so is sometimes treated as statutory in part).
- Some bodies change category over time: the NCBC was statutory (1993) until it became constitutional (Art 338B, 2018).
- The classification decides how easily a body can be created, modified or abolished and how protected its independence is.
"Which is a constitutional / statutory / non-statutory body" is one of the most frequently asked objective formats; knowing the source and the founding year of each body is essential.
NITI Aayog is executive (not statutory); the NHRC and CVC are statutory (not constitutional); the NCBC switched from statutory to constitutional in 2018; the GST Council is constitutional, but its recommendations are not binding.
Constitutional (from the Constitution), statutory (from an Act), executive (from a resolution): the source decides how the body is created, changed or abolished.