The Supreme Court has refused to grant a stay on the ongoing delimitation exercise in Assam, while agreeing to hear a challenge to the process by opposition leaders in the state. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra issued notice to the Centre and asked it to file an affidavit within three weeks. The court stated that it would not interdict the process at this stage, as the delimitation exercise had already commenced with the issuance of the draft proposal on June 20, 2023.
The apex court’s decision came in response to a plea filed by ten opposition leaders from Assam, who challenged the draft proposal put forth by the Election Commission of India (ECI) for the delimitation of Assam’s 126 Assembly constituencies and 14 Lok Sabha constituencies. The petitioners also challenged Section 8A of the Representation of People Act, 1950, which grants the Election Commission the power to conduct the delimitation process.
The petitioners argued that the provision was arbitrary, opaque, and discriminatory towards Assam. They raised concerns about the methodology used by the Election Commission, which employed different average assembly sizes for different districts, leading to a possible deviation of up to 33% in population between the largest and smallest constituency. The petitioners contended that the Constitution of India envisions an exercise where constituencies are readjusted based on an almost equal population, and criticized the reliance on 2001 census figures.
The petition also highlighted statements made by the Chief Minister of Assam, who claimed that the present exercise would benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while damaging other opposition parties. The petitioners argued that such statements raised doubts about the independence of the Election Commission’s exercise and suggested that it had been influenced by the state government.
The Supreme Court is also considering two Public Interest Litigations (PILs) related to the delimitation of four northeastern states, including Assam. In December of last year, the Election Commission began the delimitation of assembly and parliamentary constituencies in Assam, using the 2001 Census data as per Section 8A of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
The refusal to grant a stay on the delimitation exercise means that the Election Commission will be able to continue with the process in Assam. However, the Supreme Court’s decision to hear the challenge by opposition leaders indicates that there are concerns regarding the methodology used and the potential impact on political parties in the state. The outcome of the case will have significant implications for the future of electoral boundaries in Assam.
