SC upholds the constitution of the J&K Delimitation Commission
Recently the Supreme Court has dismissed the petition challenging the delimitation in Jammu and Kashmir.
In this petition, the petitioners made the following submissions:
- Only the Election Commission of India has the right to do delimitation work.
- Article – 170 of the Constitution prohibits the work of delimitation till the first census after the year 2026.
Rejecting the challenges, the Supreme Court observed that-
- The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019 entrusted the Delimitation Commission with the task of readjustment of constituencies under the Delimitation Act, 2002.
- Under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019, two new Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have been formed.
- Article-4 of the Constitution allows the Parliament to incorporate such provisions as in Article-3 for the formation of new states and union territories.
Delimitation-
- Delimitation is a process of fixing or defining the boundaries of territorial constituencies in a country or a state with a legislative body.
- Under Article-82, the Parliament enacts the Delimitation Act after every census and accordingly the Delimitation Commission is constituted.
- Under Article-170, states are divided into territorial constituencies.
- The purpose of delimitation is to provide equal representation for the same population group and a fair division of geographical areas. Thus preventing any political party from gaining an unfair advantage.
- So far, the Delimitation Commission has been formed 4 times (1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002).
- The President appoints the Delimitation Commission. Its orders have legal effect. The orders of the Delimitation Commission cannot be challenged in any court.
Delimitation work in Jammu and Kashmir
- Prior to the year 2019, the delimitation of parliamentary constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir was governed by the Constitution of India. In contrast, the delimitation of assembly constituencies was under the authority of the state government.
- After the abrogation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, the delimitation of constituencies, both legislative and parliamentary, is governed by the Constitution of India.
Source – The Hindu
