India, Oct. 30 -- 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, ...