Revision summary
Constitutionalization needs an Article 368 amendment, tenure, charge on the Fund, mandate, and transition from the statute. Models are EC, UPSC, NCSC, NCST and NCBC, not a renamed ministry cell. NCW is statutory (1990); raising it to constitutional rank improves permanence and signalling. Constitutional SC/ST commissions show that status does not ensure justice on the ground. Gender justice still needs FIRs, economic rights and political reservation; NCW can aid, not ensure.
Model answer
Introduction
Constitutionalization means writing a commission into the Constitution so that its existence, core functions, and insulation do not depend on an ordinary statute the government of the day can dilute. The National Commission for Women is a statutory body under the NCW Act, 1990. A constitutional NCW would raise status; it would not by itself guarantee gender justice.
Body
Steps required to constitutionalize a commission
- A constitutional amendment under Article 368, with the ratification map that the subject requires if it touches federal or Chapter-I Fourth-Schedule-type balances — in practice, a new Part or Articles on the model of the Election Commission (Article 324), UPSC (315–323), or the National Commissions for SCs, STs and BCs (338, 338A, 338B).
- Entrench composition, qualifications, term, removal (as nearly as possible to a Supreme Court judge or as specified), and a charge on the Consolidated Fund so salary is not a ministry file.
- Write the mandate: inquire, summon, recommend, and, if intended, give limited civil-court powers; name the reports to the President and Parliament so they must be tabled.
- Clarify relation to State commissions and to the Union executive, or the new body will fight turf with ministries and with NCSC/NCST on overlapping atrocities.
- Transitional clause: repeal or save the parent statute, transfer pending inquiries, and protect incumbents for a defined period.
- Political step before legal step: all-party support, or a ‘constitutional’ commission born of a thin majority will be as contested as a statute.
What constitutionality actually buys
- Harder abolition and a public signal of permanence, which matters for a women’s commission that every budget can starve.
- Stronger convention of consulting it on Bills that touch the family, labour, and criminal law.
- Better chance of comparable rank with NHRC and the national ‘caste’ commissions in inter-institutional fights.
Would a constitutional NCW ensure greater gender justice?
- No, not by the text alone. Gender justice needs police filing of FIR, courts, property and labour rights, and budgets for childcare and health — none of which appear by inserting NCW into the Constitution.
- NCSC and NCST are constitutional, yet atrocities and under-representation persist; the lesson is status without street-level enforcement.
- NCW’s present limits are more about recommendatory teeth, vacancies, political appointments, and a tiny investigative arm than about missing Article numbers.
- Empowerment of women also runs through the 73rd Amendment’s reserved chairs, the still-pending national women’s reservation in legislatures (as of 2020), SHGs, and labour codes — parallel tracks a commission does not own.
- A constitutional NCW could still be captured by patronage; removal safeguards help, they do not choose feminists for the chair.
Reasons a constitutional NCW is still worth doing — with humility
- Symbol and shield: women’s equality is a Preamble and Article 15 project; matching institutional rank to that claim is coherent.
- Reports with a duty to table create a parliamentary hook that a quiet statutory annual report lacks.
- Combined with binding timelines for government ATR, a specialised bench practice on violence, and State women’s commissions of similar strength, constitutionality becomes one brick.
- Recommendation: constitutionalize, give limited inquiry powers on violence and workplace complaints in aid of police and POSH, and keep the body from becoming a substitute for elected gender politics.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD AM[Art 368 amendment] --> E[Entrenched tenure fund mandate] E --> C[Constitutional commission] C --> S[Status and tabling] J[Police courts budgets representation] --> G[Gender justice] S --> G
Conclusion
Constitutionalizing a commission takes an amendment, entrenched tenure and money, a written mandate, and a clean join to existing bodies. A constitutional NCW would help status and reporting; it would not ensure gender justice or empowerment by itself. Those still depend on criminal process, economic rights, and political representation that no commission, however titled, can deliver alone.
Quick related
Students also ask
-
"The incidence and intensity of poverty are more important in determining poverty based on income alone". In this context analyze the latest United Nations Multidimensional Poverty Index Report.
Next question in the 2020 paper (Q16). View answer →
-
Is NHRC constitutional?
No. It is statutory under the Protection of Human Rights Act. Constitutionality is a choice, not the only honour.
-
Would a constitutional NCW give binding orders?
Only if the amendment says so. Today’s NCW recommends. Status and binding power are separate drafting choices.
PYQ trend
When UPSC asked this
Related PYQs from other years, newest first. Open a question to read it.
-
2021 · Q1 · GS II · 10 marks
'Constitutional Morality' is rooted in the Constitution itself and is founded on its essential facets. Explain the doctrine of 'Constitutional Morality' with the help of relevant judicial decisions. -
2021 · Q13 · GS II · 15 marks
Analyze the distinguishing features of the notion of Equality in the Constitutions of the USA and India. -
2021 · Q14 · GS II · 15 marks
Explain the constitutional provisions under which Legislative Councils are established. Review the working and current status of Legislative Councils with suitable illustrations. -
2020 · Q2 · GS II · 10 marks
"Recent amendments to the Right to information Act will have profound impact on the autonomy and independence of the Information Commission". Discuss. -
2020 · Q11 · GS II · 15 marks
Indian constitution exhibits centralising tendencies to maintain unity and integrity of the nation. Elucidate in the perspective of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897; The Disaster Management Act, 2005 and recently passed Farm Acts. -
2019 · Q5 · GS II · 10 marks
What can France learn from the Indian Constitution's approach to secularism? -
2018 · Q2 · GS II · 10 marks
Whether National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) can enforce the implementation of constitutional reservation for the Scheduled Castes in the religious minority institutions? Examine. -
2018 · Q3 · GS II · 10 marks
Under what circumstances can the Financial Emergency be proclaimed by the President of India? What consequences follow when such a declaration remains in force?
More from this paper
Q1 · UPSC Mains 2020 · GS II · 10 marks
"There is a need for simplification of procedure for disqualification of persons found guilty of corrupt practices under the Representation of peoples Act" Comment.
Governance and Policy
Corrupt practices are listed in Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Election petitions in the High Court and Section 8A disqualification by the President after the Election Commission’s opinion are separate, slow tracks. A member can sit through much of a term while the petition and the 8A file move. Lily Thomas made conviction-based disqualification immediate; the corrupt-practice route was not similarly tightened. Time-bound petitions and a single visible disqualification consequence would match the Act’s purpose.
Q2 · UPSC Mains 2020 · GS II · 10 marks
"Recent amendments to the Right to information Act will have profound impact on the autonomy and independence of the Information Commission". Discuss.
Indian Constitution
The 2005 Act gave CIC and ICs a five-year term and CEC-equivalent salary as a tenure-and-status guarantee. The RTI (Amendment) Act, 2019, left term and pay to Central Government rules and dropped the no-disadvantage clause. State Commissioners’ conditions also sit with the Centre, which federalises control over a State appellate. Appointment collegium was not the main target; security of tenure after appointment was. Autonomy suffers when the executive that is a frequent respondent also writes the Commissioner’s service rules.
Q3 · UPSC Mains 2020 · GS II · 10 marks
How far do you think cooperation, competition and confrontation have shaped the nature of federation in India? Cite some recent examples to validate your answer.
Governance and Policy
Cooperation runs through the GST Council, All-India Services and disaster law. Competition appears in investment races and NITI-style indices after higher tax devolution. Confrontation shows in CBI consent withdrawals, GST compensation fights and 2020 farm-law resistance. Delhi’s LG–government dispute is executive confrontation inside a Union Territory with a legislature. Indian federalism is all three at once; no single word captures 2014–20 practice.
Toppers' copies
Toppers' copies for this question will be uploaded soon.