Statutory Bodies and Key Laws

The bodies:

• National Human Rights Commission (NHRC): set up under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. It can inquire into a violation on its own initiative (suo motu) or on a victim's petition, intervene in court proceedings with the court's approval, visit jails to study conditions, and undertake and promote research in human rights. Its chairperson is a former Chief Justice of India or, since 2019, a former Supreme Court judge.
• The same Act creates State Human Rights Commissions and Human Rights Courts (a Sessions Court in each district, for speedy trial). The UN Human Rights Council in Geneva has nothing to do with it.
• National Commission for Women (NCW): a statutory body set up in 1992 under the NCW Act, 1990. It reviews the constitutional and legal safeguards for women and advises the government on policy affecting women.

The bodies:

• Central Vigilance Commission (CVC): set up in 1964 by an executive resolution and made statutory in 2003. The Commissioner is appointed by the President on the recommendation of a committee of the Prime Minister, the Union Home Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha (or the leader of the single largest opposition group when there is no recognised Leader).
• National Green Tribunal (NGT): set up in 2010 for quick disposal of environment and forest cases; it can award relief and compensation. It is not bound by the Code of Civil Procedure and is guided by natural justice.
• Administrative Tribunals (Article 323A): Parliament may set them up for disputes on recruitment and service conditions; they may follow their own procedure. They cannot shut out the Supreme Court's special leave jurisdiction (Article 136), and the High Courts' review is part of the basic structure (L. Chandra Kumar, 1997).
• Directorate of Enforcement (ED): under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance; enforces FEMA, 1999 and the PMLA, 2002. The Benami law is enforced by the Income Tax Department.
• Zonal Councils: five, set up under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, each chaired by the Union Home Minister.

The structure:

• Set up under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
• The NDMA is chaired by the Prime Minister and works under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• Each State Disaster Management Authority is chaired by the Chief Minister; each District authority by the District Collector (or District Magistrate).
• The Disaster Management (Amendment) Act, 2025 requires a national disaster database (and State ones), adds a provision on urban disaster risk, and allows an Urban Disaster Management Authority for State capitals and cities with a Municipal Corporation (Delhi and Chandigarh excepted).

The laws:

• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 was drafted by the First Law Commission under Macaulay. It was replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.
• The Information Technology Act, 2000 gives an electronic signature the same legal standing as a handwritten one; the Central Government makes the rules on electronic signatures.
• The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 gives civil remedies. Only an aggrieved woman can complain, wives and women in relationships like marriage are covered, and relief may be sought against the husband's or partner's relatives too.
• The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013 covers physical, verbal and non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature.
• The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 absorbed the Factories Act, 1948, the Plantations Labour Act, 1951 and other laws on working conditions. The other three codes are on Wages (2019), Industrial Relations (2020) and Social Security (2020).
• The Indian Ports Act, 2025 gives the Maritime State Development Council statutory standing and writes green norms and disaster readiness for ports into law.