Recent debates around the working and functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI) have once again stirred a debate around the role of autonomous bodies as elements of constitutional governance. Often, however, this debate suffers from a lack of clarity as its terms are loosely defined.

The modern regulatory and administrative State performs a vast range of functions, which are carried out through a number of bodies. Some of these are of a specialised and technical nature, such as the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Others, such as the ECI — the subject of ongoing controversy — have the task of actualising democratic processes. And then there are bodies that fit uneasily between these two kinds, such as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The relationship that these bodies have to the elected government — or the political executive — remains the primary subject of debate. Consider, for example, RBI. The status of RBI came under sharp scrutiny during the demonetisation exercise of 2016. The central bank was accused of having rubber-stamped the government’s decision to demonetise the currency without any independent application of mind.

Underlying this argument, however, was the assumption that a........

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