A statutory body is an institution created by a specific law, known as a statute, passed by the Parliament or a State Legislature. It is a non-constitutional body because it is not mentioned in the Constitution of India. These bodies originated to address the evolving needs of governance and to regulate specialized sectors that the legislature cannot manage directly. They solve the problem of administrative overload and the need for sectoral expertise.
The mechanism of a statutory body is entirely defined by its enabling Act, which outlines its powers, functions, structure, and authority. For example, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was established under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. Statutory bodies perform a combination of regulatory, advisory, quasi-judicial, and investigative functions.
This concept connects to Constitutional Bodies, such as the Election Commission of India, which derive their authority directly from the Constitution, like under Article 324. It also contrasts with Executive Bodies, like NITI Aayog, which are created only by a government resolution. A significant recent change is the conversion of the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) from a statutory body to a Constitutional Body by the 102nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2018, which inserted Article 338B. However, the vulnerability of statutory bodies was highlighted by the Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Act, 2019, which reduced the term of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) from five years to three, making it renewable.