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DPDP Act, 2023 · Chapter V of IX

Chapter V: Data Protection Board of India

Chapter V creates the Data Protection Board of India: who sits on it, how they are appointed and removed, and how the Board itself is run.

Sections 18–26 · 9 sectionsAll 9 sections in forceReviewed September 2026
Back to the Full DPDP Act GuideChapter VI — Powers, Functions and Procedure to be followed by Board
  1. 18Establishment of Board
  2. 19Composition and Qualifications for Appointment
  3. 20Salary, Allowances and Term of Office
  4. 21Disqualifications for Appointment and Continuation as Chairperson and Members of Board
  5. 22Resignation by Members and Filling of Vacancy
  6. 23Proceedings of Board
  7. 24Officers and Employees of Board
  8. 25Members and Officers to be Public Servants
  9. 26Powers of Chairperson

Chapter summary

In plain terms: The Central Government establishes the Board by notification as a body corporate (Section 18). Section 19 covers its composition and the qualifications of the Chairperson and members, Section 20 their salary and term of office, Section 21 disqualifications and Section 22 resignation and vacancies. The remaining sections cover Board proceedings (Section 23), its officers and employees (Section 24), the status of members and officers as public servants (Section 25) and the powers of the Chairperson (Section 26).

How the sections fit together

Chapter V is the constitutional layer of the Act. Section 18 creates the Board as a body corporate. Sections 19 to 22 cover its people: how many members, who qualifies, how long they serve and on what terms, who is disqualified, and how vacancies arise and are filled. Sections 23 to 26 cover how the Board works: its proceedings, staff, the legal status of its members and officers, and the Chairperson's powers.

Nothing in this chapter creates a compliance duty for a business. Its value to a compliance team is predictability: it shows who the regulator will be, how its decisions will be made and where its authority comes from.

Sections at a glance

Sections 18–26 of the DPDP Act, 2023. Select a section to open its own page, with the full explanation, a worked example and common questions.

Sec. 18Establishment of BoardIn force

Section 18 creates the Data Protection Board of India as a legal body corporate — the Act's central regulator and adjudicator, and the section that brought the Board itself into existence on 13 November 2025.

Read the full explanation Sec. 19Composition and Qualifications for AppointmentIn force

Section 19 sets out who sits on the Board and what qualifies them — a Chairperson and Members appointed by the Central Government, chosen for ability, integrity and relevant expertise, with at least one required to be a legal expert.

Read the full explanation Sec. 20Salary, Allowances and Term of OfficeIn force

Section 20 protects the Board's independence in a simple, practical way: fixing that a Chairperson or Member's pay can't be cut after their appointment, and giving them a defined, renewable two-year term.

Read the full explanation Sec. 21Disqualifications for Appointment and Continuation as Chairperson and Members of BoardIn force

Section 21 sets the specific grounds that disqualify someone from becoming, or continuing as, Chairperson or a Member — insolvency, moral-turpitude convictions, incapacity, conflicts of interest, and abuse of position — and guarantees a hearing before removal.

Read the full explanation Sec. 22Resignation by Members and Filling of VacancyIn force

Section 22 covers how a Chairperson or Member can resign, how a resulting vacancy gets filled, and a one-year cooling-off restriction on accepting employment after leaving office — a safeguard against a Member's decisions being influenced by future job prospects.

Read the full explanation Sec. 23Proceedings of BoardIn force

Section 23 sets how the Board conducts its own meetings and authenticates its orders, and includes a practical safety net: minor procedural defects or vacancies don't automatically invalidate what the Board has already done.

Read the full explanation Sec. 24Officers and Employees of BoardIn force

Section 24 gives the Board a short, practical staffing power: it can hire the officers and employees it needs, subject to the Central Government's prior approval.

Read the full explanation Sec. 25Members and Officers to be Public ServantsIn force

Section 25 is a single, dense sentence with real legal consequences: everyone connected to the Board — Chairperson, Members, officers and employees — is treated as a public servant under the Indian Penal Code whenever acting under the Act, exposing them to specific criminal-law protections and liabilities.

Read the full explanation Sec. 26Powers of ChairpersonIn force

Section 26 closes out the Board's constitutional and administrative provisions by defining exactly what powers the Chairperson personally holds — general administrative superintendence, the ability to delegate scrutiny of incoming matters, and the ability to allocate proceedings among Members.

Read the full explanation

Key terms in this chapter

Board
The Data Protection Board of India, an independent body established by the Central Government by notification.
Body corporate
A legal entity with perpetual succession and a common seal that can sue and be sued in its own name.
Chairperson
The head of the Board, appointed by the Central Government, with powers listed in Section 26.
Public servant
The status given to Board members and officers when acting under the Act, within the meaning of the Indian Penal Code or its successor law.
Quorum
The minimum number of members needed for Board proceedings to be valid, set under the Act and the Rules.

Why this chapter matters

The Board is the DPDP Act's enforcement body, so its independence and workings shape how the law will operate. Chapter V is already in force, which is why the Board's constitution and appointments are the first visible step of DPDP implementation. Its actual powers over data fiduciaries are in Chapter VI.

Who needs to care about this chapter

  • Anyone following how DPDP enforcement is being set up.
  • Legal and policy teams tracking Board appointments and procedures.
  • Prospective candidates and professionals interested in the qualifications set out for Board members.

Compliance checklist

Practical steps that follow from this chapter. Treat it as a starting point and adapt it to your sector and systems.

  • Track the Central Government's notifications on Board constitution and appointments.
  • Note the contact points and filing procedures the Board publishes.
  • Understand that the Board decides complaints and imposes penalties, and plan your response channel accordingly.
  • Keep the Rules on Board procedure at hand when preparing for any inquiry.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Expecting the Board to behave like a court. It is a regulator that works as a digital office.
  • Assuming Board decisions cannot be challenged. They can be appealed to the Appellate Tribunal.

Related DPDP Rules

The Act sets the framework and the DPDP Rules, 2025 supply the operational detail. These Rules work with this chapter.

Rule 17 — Appointment of Chairperson and Members

Read the Rule

Rule 18 — Salary and Terms of Service

Read the Rule

Rule 19 — Procedure for Board Meetings

Read the Rule

Rule 21 — Terms for Board Officers and Employees

Read the Rule

Common questions

Is the Data Protection Board a court?
No. It is an independent body with quasi-judicial functions: it inquires into breaches and complaints and can impose penalties. Its decisions can be appealed to the Appellate Tribunal (Chapter VII).
Who appoints Board members?
The Central Government makes the appointments, from persons with the qualifications and experience that Section 19 and the Rules describe.
Are Board members accountable for good-faith actions?
Section 25 treats members and officers as public servants, and Section 35 protects action taken in good faith under the Act.
How long do Board members serve?
The term of office is set in Section 20 and the Rules, and members are eligible for reappointment. Check the section page for the current wording.
What disqualifies a person from the Board?
Section 21 lists the grounds, which include certain convictions, insolvency, financial or other interests that could affect the person's functions, and removal from service.
Can a member resign?
Yes. Section 22 provides for resignation by notice in writing to the Central Government and for how vacancies are filled.
Has the Data Protection Board of India actually been established?
Yes - the Board was established with effect from 13 November 2025, when the Central Government's notification brought Section 18 and the rest of Chapter V into force.
Is the Board a government department or an independent body?
It's a body corporate with perpetual succession, its own common seal, and the power to sue or be sued in its own name - structured as an independent legal entity rather than an ordinary government department.
How many Members does the Board have?
The Act doesn't fix a specific number - sub-section (1) leaves that to the Central Government's own notification.
Does every Board Member need to be a lawyer?
No - sub-section (3) requires only that at least one Member be an expert in the field of law; other Members can come from a range of backgrounds including data governance, ICT, dispute resolution, and consumer protection administration.
Can the government reduce a sitting Board Member's salary?
No - sub-section (1) specifically prohibits varying the terms of service to a Member's disadvantage after their appointment.
How long does a Board Member serve?
A term of two years under sub-section (2), and they're eligible for re-appointment at the end of that term.
Can a Board Member be removed without any hearing?
No - sub-section (2) requires that the Chairperson or a Member be given an opportunity to be heard before removal from office.
Do these disqualifications apply only at the time of appointment?
No - sub-section (1) applies both to initial appointment and to continuing in office, so a disqualifying circumstance arising after appointment can also trigger disqualification.
Can a Board Member resign effective immediately?
Not automatically - sub-section (1) ties the effective date to the earliest of a few specific triggers (government permission, three months passing, or a successor taking office), rather than making resignation immediately effective upon notice.
Can a former Board Member take any private-sector job right after leaving office?
Not without approval - sub-section (3) requires prior Central Government approval for any employment accepted within one year of leaving office, and mandates disclosure of employment with a Data Fiduciary the Member had proceedings against during their tenure.
Can a Board decision be challenged just because of a minor procedural irregularity?
Not if the irregularity doesn't affect the merits of the case - sub-section (2)(c) specifically protects against that kind of challenge.
What happens if the Board Chairperson is unavailable for an extended period?
The senior-most Member discharges the Chairperson's functions under sub-section (3), until the Chairperson is able to resume their duties.
Can the Board hire staff without government involvement?
No - appointments require the Central Government's previous approval, even though the Board itself decides what staffing it considers necessary.
Are Board officers and employees covered by the same public-servant status as the Chairperson and Members?
Yes - Section 25 specifically extends public-servant status under the Indian Penal Code to the Board's officers and employees, alongside the Chairperson and Members.
Does this mean Board Members are literally government employees?
Not necessarily in an employment sense - this section specifically deems them public servants for the purposes of the Indian Penal Code's Section 21 definition, when acting under the DPDP Act, which carries its own specific legal consequences distinct from an employment classification.
Does public-servant status apply to everything a Board employee does, even outside work?
No - the deeming is scoped to conduct "acting or purporting to act in pursuance of the provisions of this Act," not to their personal life or unrelated conduct.
Does every complaint to the Board have to be personally reviewed by the Chairperson?
No - clause (b) lets the Chairperson authorise Board officers to scrutinise incoming intimations, complaints, references and correspondence, and clause (c) lets specific proceedings be allocated to individual Members or groups rather than requiring the Chairperson's personal handling of every matter.
Can the Chairperson assign a specific case to a particular Board Member?
Yes - clause (c) specifically empowers the Chairperson to authorise performance of Board functions and conduct of proceedings by an individual Member or groups of Members, and to allocate proceedings among them.

Related pages

Chapter VI — Powers, Functions and Procedure to be followed by Board

The next chapter of the Act.

Read Chapter VI

Chapter IV — Special Provisions

The previous chapter of the Act.

Read Chapter IV

Full DPDP Act Guide

All 44 sections of the Act, grouped by chapter, with status.

View all chapters