GUWAHATI: The Supreme Court has granted three months' time to the central government to submit details on the steps taken to carry out the delimitation exercise in Assam and the other northeastern states, with particular focus being centred on Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. The directive follows a 2020 Presidential order that rescinded the deferment of delimitation in these states.
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According to a LiveLaw report published on Monday, March 17, a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Sanjay Kumar and Joymalya Bagchi was hearing a petition seeking delimitation in four northeastern states—Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh. The court had earlier sought clarification from the Election Commission regarding the progress on the exercise.
The petition highlights that the central government had issued a notification on 6 March 2020, constituting a Delimitation Commission to oversee the process in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Nagaland. However, the commission only carried out delimitation in Jammu and Kashmir, excluding the northeastern states.
In a previous hearing, the petitioners' counsel had also informed the court that the President had, by an order on 28 February 2020, rescinded the deferment of delimitation. Despite this, the exercise has not been conducted in the four northeastern states, raising concerns over equal treatment.
According to the plea, an additional memorandum was submitted to the Prime Minister in 2021 and 2022, urging the implementation of the Delimitation Act, 2002, in the four states, but no response was received. The petition argues that the selective exclusion of these states violates Article 14 of the Constitution, as law-and-order concerns have not hindered elections in the region.
Section 8A of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, provides for the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, and Nagaland. It states that once the President deems conditions conducive, the deferment order under Section 10A of the Delimitation Act, 2002, may be revoked, allowing the Election Commission to conduct delimitation in these states.
The plea has called for immediate delimitation, either through a commission under the Delimitation Act, 2002, or via the Election Commission under Section 8A of the Representation of the People Act.
