Supreme Court Grants Centre Three Months for Delimitation in Four Northeastern States

Delimitation in Four NE States: It stressed that this inaction placed these states at a disadvantage compared to the rest of the country.

The Supreme Court on Monday granted the Centre three months to complete the pending delimitation exercise in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Assam.

A bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna considered the request of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who sought additional time to conclude the process. The court then deferred the hearing to July 21, instructing the Centre to complete the exercise within three months.

The Supreme Court had earlier expressed concern over the delay in implementing the delimitation process despite a 2020 presidential order that lifted the earlier deferment. The bench questioned the Centre’s inaction, stating, “Once the President rescinds the notification, that is enough to proceed with the delimitation exercise. Where does the government come in?”

In response, the Centre explained that while consultations were underway in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, ongoing violence in Manipur had hindered progress in that state.

The court was hearing a plea filed by the Delimitation Demand Committee for the State of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Nagaland in North East India. The petition urged the court to enforce the delimitation exercise, arguing that the 2020 presidential order made it legally mandatory.

Advocate G Gangmei, representing the petitioner, criticised the prolonged delay, highlighting that two years had passed since the petition was filed with no significant action taken. While Assam’s delimitation was completed in August 2023 following a Ministry of Law and Justice order, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Manipur remained untouched.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) maintained that it required specific instructions from the Centre under Section 8A of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 to proceed with the exercise.

The petition further claimed that the delay violated Article 14 of the Constitution, arguing that the northeastern states were being unfairly denied delimitation despite decades of peaceful elections in the region. It stressed that this inaction placed these states at a disadvantage compared to the rest of the country.

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