The Supreme Court of India, on March 17, granted the Union of India a period of three months to present details on the steps taken to carry out the delimitation process in the northeastern states, particularly in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. This decision follows a Presidential order issued in 2020, which revoked the deferment of the delimitation exercise in these states.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, along with Justices Sanjay Kumar and Joymalya Bagchi, was hearing a petition seeking delimitation in four northeastern states—Manipur, Assam, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh. Previously, the Court had sought an explanation from the Election Commission regarding the actions taken to implement the delimitation process in these states.

Section 8A of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, governs the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, and Nagaland. This provision allows the President to revoke a deferment order if the conditions in these states are deemed favorable for the exercise. Once the deferment is lifted, the Election Commission can proceed with the delimitation process.

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Additionally, Section 10A of the Delimitation Act, 2002, provides that the President can defer delimitation if it is determined that the unity and integrity of the country are under threat or if there is a serious risk to public order.

During the last hearing, the counsel for the petitioners informed the Court that the President had, by an order in 2020, revoked the deferment of the delimitation process in the four northeastern states. This means that, as per the Presidential order, the delimitation exercise can now be legally carried out.

The petition refers to the President’s order dated February 28, 2020, which permitted the conduct of delimitation in these four states. However, despite this, the Government of India had issued a notification on March 6, 2020, constituting a Delimitation Commission. The Commission, chaired by retired Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, was set up to carry out delimitation for Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Nagaland. However, the exercise was eventually restricted to Jammu and Kashmir alone.

The petitioners argued that the government’s selective approach to delimitation violated Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to equality.

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The petitioners highlighted that:

• Despite the Delimitation Act, 2002, being in force for over two decades, no delimitation exercises have been conducted in the four northeastern states.
• Law-and-order concerns have been cited as a reason for the delay, yet multiple parliamentary and state assembly elections have been conducted successfully in these states without major issues.
• The northeastern states deserve equal treatment in delimitation, similar to the rest of India.

"It has been already two decades since the Delimitation Act, 2002, was amended and no delimitation exercises have been conducted in the four North-eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, and Nagaland nor under Section 8A of the Representation of Peoples Act in the name of law-and-order problems. However, since 2002 it is to be noted that various parliamentary and state assembly elections have been conducted successfully in these four North Eastern states without any issue of law-and-order problems."

Case Title: Delimitation Demand Committee for the State of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur & Nagaland in North East India v Union of India| Diary No 12880 of 2022