Guwahati, Nov 20: The Supreme Court has questioned the Election Commission of India as to why no steps have been taken to carry out the delimitation exercise in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, even after a Presidential order of 2020 had rescinded deferment of the delimitation.
The apex court posed the question to the ECI while hearing a petition seeking delimitation in four north-eastern states – Manipur, Assam, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
Notably, the President’s order, dated February 28, 2020, had allowed for conducting delimitation exercises in the four Northeastern states.
Section 8A of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 provides for delimitation of parliamentary and Assembly constituencies in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur or Nagaland.
It states that if the President is satisfied that the conditions prevailing in the four states are conducive for the conduct of the delimitation exercise, the President may rescind the deferment order issued under the provisions of Section 10A of the Delimitation Act, 2002 in relation to that state, and provide for the conduct of delimitation exercise in the state by the Election Commission.
During the hearing, the advocate appearing for the petitioners informed the Court that the President in 2020 by an order has rescinded the deferment of delimitation in the four states. Therefore, as per the 2020 Presidential order, the exercise of delimitation can be carried out in the said states.
The advocate stressed that as per the Counter of the Election Commission of India (ECI), it is contended that the rescinding order of the President would not lead to an automatic conduct of the delimitation as a default and specific orders to the ECI would be imperative to begin the exercise.
The bench was informed that so far, only in Assam, the exercise of delimitation has been done, as per an order passed in August 2023.
Senior advocate appearing for the ECI clarified that in the instance of Assam, a provision was made by the Ministry of Law and Justice for the process of delimitation specific to Assam, which was then carried out by the ECI. He explained that for the four states in question, due to the operation of Section 8A, only when the government decides, the ECI can conduct the exercise
The Additional Solicitor General (ASG) appearing for the Union contended that in light of the fresh outbreak of violence in Manipur, the situation there does not seem conducive for the exercise, while in the other three states, consultations are ongoing.
