Sections 18–26: The Data Protection Board of India

Statutory Text Overview (Official Gazette)

Under Section 18, the Central Government establishes the Data Protection Board of India (DPBI) as a body corporate having perpetual succession and a common seal, with power to acquire, hold and dispose of property, to contract, and to sue or be sued. Sections 19 to 26 then cover:

• Composition (Section 19): A Chairperson and other Members in a number the government notifies, with at least one legal expert.
• Term (Section 20): Two years, with re-appointment allowed.
• Disqualification and resignation (Sections 21 and 22): Includes a one-year bar on taking jobs without government approval after leaving office.
• Proceedings (Section 23): Meetings may be held by digital means.
• Staff (Sections 24 and 25): Officers and employees are public servants.
• Chairperson’s powers (Section 26): Including assigning cases to individual Members or groups of Members.

Key statutory responsibilities under Section 27 and 28 include:

• Inquiring into any personal data breach upon receiving an intimation or complaint.
• Inquiring into non-compliance with the provisions of this Act or rules made thereunder.
• Directing urgent remedial or mitigation measures in the event of a breach.
• Imposing financial penalties under Section 33.

What the Board Means in Plain English

The Data Protection Board of India is the central regulatory and enforcement agency for Indian privacy law:

1. Digital-by-Design Office: The Board operates as an electronic, paperless adjudicatory body. Complaints, summons, evidence submissions, hearings, and orders are designed to be conducted digitally via secure web portals.
2. Quasi-Judicial Powers: Under Section 28(7), the Board has civil court powers to summon people and examine them on oath, receive evidence on affidavit, require documents to be produced, and inspect any data, book, document or register. Section 28(8) stops it from seizing equipment or blocking premises in a way that disrupts day-to-day business. Rule 19(9) requires an inquiry to finish within six months, extendable three months at a time.
3. Appeals via TDSAT: If your business disagrees with an order or penalty issued by the Board, appeals do not go to regular district courts; they are filed before the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) under Section 29, within 60 days of the order. TDSAT aims to decide appeals within six months.
4. Current status: Sections 18 to 26 and Rules 17 to 21, which cover appointments, salaries, meetings and digital functioning, came into force on November 13, 2025. On May 6, 2026, MeitY invited applications for the Chairperson and four Members. As of October 2026 we have not found a public notice of their appointment, so the Board may not yet be hearing cases. Check the Board’s official website before relying on its status.
5. Pay and selection (Rules 17 and 18): A committee chaired by the Cabinet Secretary recommends the Chairperson, and one chaired by the MeitY Secretary recommends Members. The Chairperson’s salary is ₹4.5 lakh a month and each Member’s is ₹4 lakh, without house or car.

Official Text: Sections 18 to 26

Section 18. Establishment of Board

18. (1) With effect from such date as the Central Government may, by notification, appoint, there shall be established, for the purposes of this Act, a Board to be called the Data Protection Board of India.

(2) The Board shall be a body corporate by the name aforesaid, having perpetual succession and a common seal, with power, subject to the provisions of this Act, to acquire, hold and dispose of property, both movable and immovable, and to contract and shall, by the said name, sue or be sued.

(3) The headquarters of the Board shall be at such place as the Central Government may notify.

Section 19. Composition and qualifications for appointment of Chairperson and Members

19. (1) The Board shall consist of a Chairperson and such number of other Members as the Central Government may notify.

(2) The Chairperson and other Members shall be appointed by the Central Government in such manner as may be prescribed.

(3) The Chairperson and other Members shall be a person of ability, integrity and standing who possesses special knowledge or practical experience in the fields of data governance, administration or implementation of laws related to social or consumer protection, dispute resolution, information and communication technology, digital economy, law, regulation or techno-regulation, or in any other field which in the opinion of the Central Government may be useful to the Board, and at least one among them shall be an expert in the field of law.

Section 20. Salary, allowances payable to and term of office

20. (1) The salary, allowances and other terms and conditions of service of the Chairperson and other Members shall be such as may be prescribed, and shall not be varied to their disadvantage after their appointment.

(2) The Chairperson and other Members shall hold office for a term of two years and shall be eligible for re-appointment.

Section 21. Disqualifications for appointment and continuation as Chairperson and Members of Board

21. (1) A person shall be disqualified for being appointed and continued as the Chairperson or a Member, if she—

(a) has been adjudged as an insolvent;

(b) has been convicted of an offence, which in the opinion of the Central Government, involves moral turpitude;

(c) has become physically or mentally incapable of acting as a Member;

(d) has acquired such financial or other interest, as is likely to affect prejudicially her functions as a Member; or

(e) has so abused her position as to render her continuance in office prejudicial to the public interest.

(2) The Chairperson or Member shall not be removed from her office by the Central Government unless she has been given an opportunity of being heard in the matter.

Section 22. Resignation by Members and filling of vacancy

22. (1) The Chairperson or any other Member may give notice in writing to the Central Government of resigning from her office, and such resignation shall be effective from the date on which the Central Government permits her to relinquish office, or upon expiry of a period of three months from the date of receipt of such notice, or upon a duly appointed successor entering upon her office, or upon the expiry of the term of her office, whichever is earliest.

(2) A vacancy caused by the resignation or removal or death of the Chairperson or any other Member, or otherwise, shall be filled by fresh appointment in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

(3) The Chairperson and any other Member shall not, for a period of one year from the date on which they cease to hold such office, except with the previous approval of the Central Government, accept any employment, and shall also disclose to the Central Government any subsequent acceptance of employment with any Data Fiduciary against whom proceedings were initiated by or before such Chairperson or other Member.

Section 23. Proceedings of Board

23. (1) The Board shall observe such procedure in regard to the holding of and transaction of business at its meetings, including by digital means, and authenticate its orders, directions and instruments in such manner as may be prescribed.

(2) No act or proceeding of the Board shall be invalid merely by reason of—

(a) any vacancy in or any defect in the constitution of the Board;

(b) any defect in the appointment of a person acting as the Chairperson or other Member of the Board; or

(c) any irregularity in the procedure of the Board, which does not affect the merits of the case.

(3) When the Chairperson is unable to discharge her functions owing to absence, illness or any other cause, the senior-most Member shall discharge the functions of the Chairperson until the date on which the Chairperson resumes her duties.

Section 24. Officers and employees of Board

24. The Board may, with previous approval of the Central Government, appoint such officers and employees as it may deem necessary for the efficient discharge of its functions under the provisions of this Act, on such terms and conditions of appointment and service as may be prescribed.

Section 25. Members and officers to be public servants

25. The Chairperson, Members, officers and employees of the Board shall be deemed, when acting or purporting to act in pursuance of provisions of this Act, to be public servants within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code.

Section 26. Powers of Chairperson

26. The Chairperson shall exercise the following powers, namely:—

(a) general superintendence and giving direction in respect of all administrative matters of the Board;

(b) authorise any officer of the Board to scrutinise any intimation, complaint, reference or correspondence addressed to the Board; and

(c) authorise performance of any of the functions of the Board and conduct any of its proceedings, by an individual Member or groups of Members and to allocate proceedings among them.

For what the Board can do and how inquiries run, see Sections 27–28.