Delimitation in the Northeast

Context

Delimitation in North-Eastern States and its constitutional validity.

Background

Amid opposition to the Centre’s decision on delimitation move from various quarters in Nagaland, former Advisor to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and delimitation expert S.K. Mendiratta has reportedly written to the Commission calling the Centre’s move to carry out the delimitation exercise in four north-eastern states is unconstitutional and illegal.

He cited in his letter to the three Election Commissioners that the delimitation exercise in the four States would not stand legal scrutiny under Section 8A of the Representation of People Act, 1950.

What is Delimitation and How it is important?

Delimitation is the act of redrawing boundaries of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats to represent changes in population. In this process, the number of seats allocated to a State may also change.

The objective is to provide equal representation for equal population segments, and a fair division of geographical areas, so that no political party has an extra advantage. The Delimitation Commission’s orders cannot be questioned before any court.

How often has delimitation been done?

Delimitation is done on the basis of the preceding Census. The first such exercise in 1950-51 was carried out by the President, with the help of the Election Commission. Following the Delimitation Commission Act in 1952, all such exercises have been conducted by Delimitation Commissions — set up in 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002.

There was no delimitation after the 1981 and 1991 Censuses. This was a fallout of the provision that the ratio between the number of Lok Sabha seats in a State and the population of the State is, as far as practicable, the same for all states. Although unintended, this meant that States that took little interest in population control could end up with more seats in Parliament, while the southern States that promoted family planning could end up with fewer seats. Amid these concerns, the Constitution was amended in 1976 to suspend delimitation until 2001.

Another amendment extended the freeze on the number of seats until 2026, by when the country was projected to achieve a uniform population growth rate. So, the last delimitation exercise between July 2002 and March 31, 2008, based on the 2001 Census, only readjusted boundaries of existing Lok Sabha and Assembly seats and reworked the number of reserved seats.

What were the reasons to exclude four NE States in last Delimitation in 2002-08 ?

In Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Nagaland, various organizations had moved the Gauhati High Court against the 2002-08 exercise, challenging the use of the 2001 Census for reference. From Assam, an all-party delegation met then Home Minister Shivraj Patil pleading that delimitation be called off because the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was yet to be updated. The Delimitation Act was amended in 2008, and on February 8, 2008, Presidential orders were issued to defer delimitation in these four States.

Present changes that led to resume the Process:

On February 28 this year, President Ram Nath Kovind cleared the decks for the resumption of the delimitation exercise in the four States by cancelling the order of February 8, 2008.

The fresh order issued by the Legislative Department of the Law Ministry said “it appears that the circumstances that led to the deferring of the delimitation exercise” in Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland “have ceased to exist and that the delimitation of the constituencies as envisaged under the Delimitation Act, 2002 could be carried out now”. It noted that there had been a reduction in insurgency incidents, making the situation conducive for carrying out delimitation.

Impact of Delimitation on Number of Seats:

Not only in the four Northeast States, there is a freeze until 2026 on the number of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in any State. Delimitation will only redraw the boundaries of constituency in each State, and can rework the number of reserved seats for SCs and STs. However, because of exceptional past circumstances, Jammu & Kashmir’s Assembly seats will now increase from 107 to 114, which is expected to increase Jammu region’s representation.

Reason of Objection for the Delimitation:

In 2008, after the President deferred delimitation in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Nagaland, the Parliament decided that instead of creating another Delimitation Commission in future for the limited purpose of redrawing seat boundaries in the four northeastern States, the exercise there would be carried out by the EC. The Representation of the People Act 1950 was amended, and Section 8A was introduced for this purpose.

The Parliament was guided by the fact that there is precedence of the EC being vested with the authority to redraw boundaries of constituencies, including when Delhi was delimited into 70 seats in 1991-92, and Uttarakhand into 70 seats in 2000.

Also it was emphasized that the Representation of the People Act 1950 clearly states that delimitation in the four northeastern States, when held, would fall within the EC’s remit and the Centre should not have notified a separate Delimitation Commission for this purpose. Hence, any delimitation exercise in Arunachal, Manipur, Assam and Nagaland by the new Delimitation Commission would be declared void by the courts and subsequently would lead to the wastage of huge precious public funds.

Way Forward

Government should take due consideration of the objection to the Delimitation Commission and take necessary measures, as the objection has come from a legal expert and former legal adviser to the Election Commission and hence it should also be noted that his voice is important, and carries a lot of weight.

Connecting the Dots:

Question for Prelims

Consider the following statements, with reference to the Delimitation Commission.

1. Delimitation Commission is empowered to redrawing boundaries of Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly constituency seats.
2. Orders of the Delimitation Commission can be challenged in Courts.

Which of the statements given above is/ are correct ?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Question for Mains

‘Delimitation Commission provides equal representation to the equal population segments.’ Discuss.