Supreme Court ask govt to set up fresh delimitation commission

Subject: Polity

Section: Elections

Context: SC ask govt to set up fresh delimitation commission

More about the news:

The Supreme Court has directed the Centre to promptly establish a delimitation commission to provide proportional representation for two scheduled tribe communities seeking political reservation in West Bengal.
These communities, Limboo and Tamang, were declared as scheduled tribes by a 2002 law passed by Parliament.
The court clarified that the delimitation exercise should not interfere with upcoming elections for the Lok Sabha or the Assembly, as holding elections is a constitutional mandate.
The Election Commission informed the court that adding Limboo and Tamang communities in West Bengal would result in an additional seat for Scheduled Tribes in the assembly.
The court emphasized the Union government’s responsibility to ensure the implementation of Articles 330 and 332, which provide reservation for SC/ST communities based on proportional representation.
The order stems from petitions seeking political representation for the two ST communities in West Bengal and Sikkim.
The court noted that Sikkim’s special provisions under Article 371F allow for reservation to specific sections of the population, different from proportional reservation under Articles 330 and 332.
The judgment clarified that it would not affect the election schedule and highlighted the need for parliamentary legislation to address reservation extents for ST communities.

What is Delimitation:

Delimitation is the act of redrawing boundaries of Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies to represent changes in population and is done on the basis of the preceding Census.
This exercise is carried out by a Delimitation Commission, whose orders have the force of law and cannot be questioned before any court.

What are the Constitutional provisions:

Article 82: This provides the Parliament with the authority to enact a Delimitation Act after every Census.
Article 170: This provides for the States to get divided into territorial constituencies as per the Delimitation Act after every Census.
The Union government sets up a Delimitation Commission once the Act is in force.

What is Delimitation Commission:

It is appointed by the President of India and works in collaboration with the Election Commission of India.
Its members are a serving or retired Supreme Court judge, Chief Election Commissioner or an Election Commissioner nominated by CEC and Election Commissioners of the respective state.
Its function is to determine the number and boundaries of constituencies, to identify seats reserved for SC/ST.
It is a high power body whose orders have the force of law and cannot be called in question before any court.
Delimitation Commissions have been set up four times — 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002 under the Acts of 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002.