The Supreme Court of India has set a three-month deadline for the Central Government to complete the delimitation exercise in the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Assam. The decision came after the Centre’s solicitor general, Tushar Mehta, requested additional time to carry out the process. Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who heads the bench, has deferred the next hearing to July 21, urging the government to meet the stipulated timeline.
This directive follows a period of concern over delays in the delimitation process, despite a presidential order in 2020 that rescinded previous deferrals. “Once the president rescinds the notification, that is enough to proceed with the delimitation exercise. Where does the government come in?” questioned the bench during the proceedings.
The central government cited ongoing consultations in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, and recent violence in Manipur, as complicating factors in progressing with the delimitation. The Supreme Court was addressing a plea by the “Delimitation Demand Committee for the State of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur & Nagaland in North East India,” which called for the immediate implementation of the delimitation exercise.
Advocate G Gangmei, representing the petitioners, emphasized that the President’s order had legally mandated the exercise, criticizing the lack of substantial progress in states except Assam. In Assam, delimitation was completed in August 2023 following directives from the Ministry of Law and Justice, highlighting a disparity in the execution of delimitation across the states.
The Election Commission of India has indicated that it awaits specific directives from the Central government to begin delimitation under Section 8A of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. The petition referred to a presidential order issued on February 28, 2020, which authorized delimitation in the four northeastern states, along with the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The plea accused the government of selectively denying delimitation in these states, alleging this constituted a violation of the fundamental right to equality under Article 14 of the Constitution. It also highlighted the historical context, noting that despite decades of peaceful elections, these states had not seen delimitation since the Delimitation Act was amended in 2002, leaving them at a disadvantage compared to the rest of the country.
