Latest news with #DelimitationAct
Time of India
25-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
SC rejects plea on delimitation exercise in AP and Telangana
Vijayawada: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition challenging the notification issued for delimitation of constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir without including Andhra Pradesh and Telangana . The apex court observed that the rule of parity does not apply equally to states and union territories, and the doctrine of legitimate expectation cannot be invoked as an enforceable right when there is an express constitutional limitation. The SC further noted that the delimitation of constituencies in AP and Telangana can only be taken up based on the data from the first census conducted after 2026. Prof K Purushottam Reddy moved the Supreme Court, contending the non-inclusion of AP and Telangana in the notification issued for the delimitation of assembly and parliament constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir. He contended that, according to section 26 of AP Reorganisation Act, assembly constituencies in the two Telugu states should be increased from 175 and 119 to 225 and 153, respectively. Arguing on behalf of the petitioner, Rao Ranjit told the apex court that the exclusion of AP and Telangana from the scope of the delimitation exercise, as contemplated in the notification, suffers from the vice of intelligible differentia. The delimitation commission appointed pursuant to the issuance of the notification was the first after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, and the electorate in both AP and Telangana have a legitimate expectation about a similar exercise, which is the constitutional responsibility of the Union govt as per AP Reorganisation Act, he said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like No annual fees for life UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now The power under the Delimitation Act must be exercised uniformly by the Union govt, and there could be no plausible justification for omitting the two Telugu states from the delimitation exercise, he argued. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta and additional solicitor general KM Natraj, arguing on behalf of the Union govt, submitted that the petition is devoid of merits as there was an express bar on the delimitation of constituencies in the states governed by Article 170. They argued that the Jammu and Kashmir comes under Article 239A of the Constitution, not Article 170. As states and union territories are governed by different constitutional schemes of arrangements, there can be no claim of parity, they argued. Considering the arguments, the Supreme Court bench comprising of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh upheld the arguments of the Union govt. Noting that states and union territories are governed by different constitutional principles and there is an express bar on the delimitation of constituencies in states, the bench observed that if the petition is entertained, it will open flood gates with similar demands from other states. The bench also held that the doctrine of legitimate expectation and parity cannot be invoked in view of express constitutional provisions and dismissed the petition.
Time of India
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
'Delimitation is a constitutional obligation, not a political motivated': BJP's chief spokesperson NV Subhash in response to DMK criticism
HYDERABAD: BJP chief spokesperson NV Subhash on Saturday dismissed allegations attributing political motives to the Centre's decision to undertake delimitation. "Delimitation is neither arbitrary nor politically motivated. It is a constitutional obligation, clearly laid out under Articles 82 and 170 of the Indian Constitution," he said. He strongly condemned the DMK's "illogical and baseless" objections to the Centre's upcoming delimitation exercise. "Delimitation was a constitutionally mandated process aimed at ensuring fair representation for all citizens," Subhash said. Subhash said that delimitation involves redrawing boundaries to reflect changes in population and ensure equitable representation. "In simple terms, larger populations mean more representatives. That is the spirit of representative democracy," he said. He reminded that under Article 82, the Parliament is required to pass a Delimitation Act after every national census. "Article 170 provides for similar changes at the state level. Delimitation exercises were carried out in 1952, 1963, 1973, and 2002," he said. You Can Also Check: Hyderabad AQI | Weather in Hyderabad | Bank Holidays in Hyderabad | Public Holidays in Hyderabad Subhash mentioned that following the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Union home minister Amit Shah rightly announced the Centre's intent to initiate both a national census and a fresh delimitation to address imbalances that emerged over the decades.
Hindustan Times
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
MP Upendra Kushwaha seeks fairer representation in parliament for Bihar and UP
Former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha on Sunday claimed that states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have an inadequate representation in Parliament and delimitation was necessary to set things right. I would urge my Hindu brethren to show some magnanimity, Kushwaha said.(ANI file) Addressing a rally in Gayaji, the Rajya Sabha MP also termed as "misleading" the contention that better implementation of family planning measures had slowed down the growth in population of southern states and delimitation would put these at a disadvantage. "If we see the period between 1881, when the first census was held under British Raj, and the Independence in 1947, the rate of growth in southern states was higher. The reason being famines and pandemics hitting Bihar and adjoining states like Uttar Pradesh with greater severity", claimed the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief. The RLM is an NDA partner. He said, "If we look at the data, in southern states there is a Lok Sabha constituency for every 21 lakh people while in Bihar and UP 31 lakh people elect one MP. This militates against Babasaheb Ambedkar's principle of one person one vote and every vote having an equal value". Kushwaha blamed the "injustice" on the Congress, saying, "During the Emergency, in 1976, the Delimitation Act was amended, which disrupted the earlier practice of census and delimitation taking place together. Now, the number of parliamentary constituencies has been static for 50 years. Otherwise, Bihar would have 60 MPs, 20 more than its current strength in the Lower House". He also said, "Over the years, the rate of population growth in the south has declined not because of performance of governments in states but due to improvement in education, which they could afford much before the Hindi heartland could catch up". "Education has been spreading in the Hindi-speaking states and this will have an impact on the growth of population here as well. But until that happens, let the region's representation in Parliament be commensurate with its population", said Kushwaha. He also expressed solidarity with Buddhists demanding full control of the Maha Bodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya, where Buddha is said to have got enlightened 2,500 years ago. "I am myself a Hindu and not a Buddhist. But I would urge my Hindu brethren to show some magnanimity. They are free to have full control of crores of temples. Let them give up their claim on just one and prove that Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam is not a mere slogan", added Kushwaha. He also said, "Some may see me as a stormy petrel. When I was in the first council of ministers of Narendra Modi, my criticism of the collegium system in higher judiciary raised many eyebrows. But I consider myself a trailblazer. Today all parties are speaking against the discriminatory system of appointment of judges in High Courts and the Supreme Court".
Time of India
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Telangana Congress delimitation panel to consult legal experts, review past reports; leaders ask for representation
HYDERABAD: The first meeting of the delimitation committee of the Telangana Congress on Monday decided to consult legal and constitutional experts. They will also study the reports of previous delimitation commissions, based on which a report will be prepared to ensure that injustice is not done to Telangana and other southern states. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The present delimitation of parliamentary constituencies within states was done on the basis of the 2001 Census, under the provisions of the Delimitation Act, 2002. However, the Constitution was specifically amended in 2002 not to have interstate delimitation of constituencies till the "first census conducted after the year 2026". Thus, the present constituencies carved out on the basis of the 2001 Census would continue to be in operation till then. The TPCC delimitation committee meeting was attended by its chairman and CWC special invitee Ch Vamshi Chand Reddy and its members, AICC in charge Meenakshi Natarajan and Telangana Congress president B Mahesh Kumar Goud. They discussed the formulae adopted by the previous delimitation commissions and decided to study them in detail. After this meeting, a delegation of the Yadav community leaders met Meenakshi and Mahesh Goud and urged them to provide adequate representation to Yadav and Kurma communities in the ensuing panchayat, MPTC, and ZPTC elections, and also a berth to one of the communities in the cabinet, where three vacancies still exist. The TPCC chief spoke to the concerned minister and assured them that their request for a cabinet berth would be sent to the AICC leadership. He also assured them that Yadava and Kurma community members would be given opportunities to contest in the forthcoming rural local body polls, but based on the winning prospects of the candidates and their contribution to strengthening the party at the grassroots levels. Later, Meenakshi addressed a meeting of party leaders on 'Jai Bapu, Jai Bheem, and Samvidhan Bachao' programmes to be taken up in the state.
Indian Express
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Census, followed by delimitation or freeze? The road ahead, likely legal challenges
The current freeze on delimitation — which for the past 50 years has based the allocation of seats to states in the Lok Sabha on the census figures of 1971 — will expire in 2026, unless Parliament passes another Constitutional Amendment Bill by then to extend it. The reason: the Constitution under Article 82 mandates delimitation after each census to readjust the seats as per changes in population. It says, 'Upon the completion of each census, the allocation of seats in the House of the People to the States and the division of each State into territorial constituencies shall be readjusted by such authority and in such manner as Parliament may by law determine.' Article 81 of the Constitution provides for the 'one person, one vote, one value' principle. Article 81 (2) (a) says, 'There shall be allotted to each State a number of seats in the House of the People in such manner that the ratio between that number and the population of the state is, so far as practicable, the same for all States.' Article 81 (2) (b) says, 'Each State shall be divided into territorial constituencies in such manner that the ratio between the population of each constituency and number of seats allotted to it is, so far as practicable, the same throughout the State.' With the collection of data for the next census ending by March 1, 2027, the release of census data could coincide with the expiry of the freeze on delimitation. This freeze was put in place first for 25 years through a constitutional amendment in 1976, and again by 25 years through a constitutional amendment in 2002. The reason for the freeze was the concern of the southern states that because their population had stabilised by then, and the population of some northern states had begun to grow at a brisk pace, their representation in the Lok Sabha would go down. To freeze or not to freeze With the Constitution ensuring equality of representation to citizens and not states of the Union, and mandating delimitation every 10 years to adjust the allocation of the seats to population, the only way in which the southern states will not lose representation would have to be another Constitutional amendment. However, with government sources saying that the idea is to have delimitation and then women's reservation in the Lok Sabha elections of 2029, the census is likely to be followed by delimitation. The website of the Election Commission of India says, 'Under Article 82 of the Constitution, the Parliament by law enacts a Delimitation Act after every census. After the commencement of the Act, the Central Government constitutes a Delimitation Commission. This Delimitation Commission demarcates the boundaries of the Parliamentary Constituencies as per provisions of the Delimitation Act. The present delimitation of constituencies has been done on the basis of 2001 census figures under the provisions of Delimitation Act, 2002. Notwithstanding the above, the Constitution of India was specifically amended in 2002 not to have delimitation of constituencies till the first census after 2026. Thus, the present Constituencies carved out on the basis of the 2001 census shall continue to be in operation till the first census after 2026.' In other words, the release of census data will be followed by the passage of the Delimitation Bill in Parliament, unless Parliament suspends the constitutionally mandated process by amending the Constitution to freeze delimitation by, say, another 25 years. Potential legal issues Once the Delimitation Commission is constituted by the Centre, it will use the latest census data to redraw Lok Sabha constituencies. However, it will be bound by Article 81 of the Constitution to redraw these on the basis of the latest population data, unless Article 81 is itself amended. Article 81 may anyway require amendments. For instance, since it limits the strength of the Lok Sabha to 550 under clauses (a) and (b), the strength will have to revised through a constitutional amendment so as to ensure that one MP does not represent too large a population, and to pave way for the reservation of women without cutting down the seats available to men. Article 81 as of now makes one exception to the 'one person, one vote, one value' principle, by giving small states and Union Territories at least one seat even if their population is very low. Since the Constitution is clear about the centrality of this principle in all other cases, the only way the south does not lose relative strength in the Lok Sabha will be by amending Article 81 (2) (a). However, any move to amend Article 81 (2) (a) would be liable to challenge in the Supreme Court as violative of the right to equality enshrined in Articles 14 and 15. The fear in south India is that if delimitation is based purely on population, northern states will get much more seats and thus a very large voice in Parliament. But if the law is amended and they get more seats than they would through the population criterion, then voters in the north and the south are not being treated equally. Even if the principle of reasonable classification — likes be treated alike — is evoked, it will be based on the argument that better social and economic indicators require special protection for southern states. This logic is exactly opposite to the one that permits reservation on the grounds that the state can make special provisions for the backward classes. The delimitation question, thus, has no easy answers, and is likely to lead to much litigation. Vikas Pathak is deputy associate editor with The Indian Express and writes on national politics. He has over 17 years of experience, and has worked earlier with The Hindustan Times and The Hindu, among other publications. He has covered the national BJP, some key central ministries and Parliament for years, and has covered the 2009 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls and many state assembly polls. He has interviewed many Union ministers and Chief Ministers. Vikas has taught as a full-time faculty member at Asian College of Journalism, Chennai; Symbiosis International University, Pune; Jio Institute, Navi Mumbai; and as a guest professor at Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. Vikas has authored a book, Contesting Nationalisms: Hinduism, Secularism and Untouchability in Colonial Punjab (Primus, 2018), which has been widely reviewed by top academic journals and leading newspapers. He did his PhD, M Phil and MA from JNU, New Delhi, was Student of the Year (2005-06) at ACJ and gold medalist from University Rajasthan College in Jaipur in graduation. He has been invited to top academic institutions like JNU, St Stephen's College, Delhi, and IIT Delhi as a guest speaker/panellist. ... Read More
