Appointment and term of office of members

Article 285, Draft Constitution of India 1948

(1) The Chairman and other members of a Public Service Commission shall be appointed, in the case of the Union Commission, by the President, and in the case of a State Commission, by the Governor of the State in his discretion:

Provided that at least one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission shall be persons who at the dates of their respective appointments have held office for at least ten years either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State and in computing the said period of ten years any period before the commencement of this Constitution during which a person has held office under the Crown shall be included.

(2) In the case of the Union Commission, the President and, in the case of a State Commission, the Governor of the State in his discretion may by regulations-

(a) Determine the number of members of the Commission, their tenure of office and their conditions of service; and(b) Make provision with respect to the number of members of the staff of the Commission and their conditions of service.

(3) On ceasing to hold office-

(a) The Chairman of the Union Commission shall be ineligible for further employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State;

(b) The Chairman of a State Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or a member of the Union Commission or as the Chairman of another State Commission, but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State;

(c) No other member of the Union or of any State Commission shall be eligible for any other appointment either under the Government of India or the Government of a State without the approval in the case of an appointment in connection with the affairs of a State, of the Governor of the State and, in the case of any other appointment, of the President.

Article 316, Constitution of India 1950

(1) The Chairman and other members of a Public Service Commission shall be appointed, in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission, by the President, and in the case of a State Commission, by the Governor or Rajpramukh of the State:

⁠Provided that as nearly as may be one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission shall be persons who at the dates of their respective appointments have held office for at least ten years either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State, and in computing the said period of ten years any period before the commencement of this Constitution during which a person has held office under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State shall be included.

⁠(2) A member of a Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains, in the case of the Union Commission, the age of sixty-five years, and in the case of a State Commission or a Joint Commission, the age of sixty years, whichever is earlier:

⁠Provided that—

(a) a member of a Public Service Commission may, by writing under his hand addressed, in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission, to the President, and in the case of a State Commission, to the Governor or Rajpramukh of the State, resign his office;

(b) a member of a Public Service Commission may be removed from his office in the manner provided in clause (1) or clause (3) of article 317.

⁠(3) A person who holds office as a member of a Public Service Commission shall, on the expiration of his term of office, be ineligible for re-appointment to that office.

Draft Article 285 (Article 316, Constitution of India 1950) was debated on 22 August 1949. The Draft Article regulated the appointment and composition of the members of the Public Service Commission.

The Drafting Committee Chairman moved an amendment to split the Draft Article and divide them into individual articles. The amended Draft Article 285 provided for the appointment and term of the office members of a Public Service Commission.

A Member felt that only civil servants were advantaged by the provision which stated that half of the members of the commission must have held office for at least 10 years under a state government or the Union Government.

The Chairman responded by saying that the provision was not to benefit civil servants and that it was necessary for those with experience to be on the Commission.

An amendment was moved to changed the requirement to ‘as nearly as may be one-half’ of the members. The Assembly passed this amendment and it was adopted into the Article.

The amended Draft Article was added to the Constitution on the same day.