Context: Recently, the Election Commission’s former legal advisor, red-flagged the Central government’s order setting up a Delimitation Commission for Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Assam and Nagaland calling it “unconstitutional” and “illegal”.
Background

• When delimitation was done in the country in 2002-08, these states were left out, due to apprehensions overuse of the 2001 Census. 
• In these states various organisations had moved the Gauhati High Court against the 2002-08 exercise, challenging the use of the 2001 Census for reference. 
• An all-party delegation from Assam met the then Home Minister pleading that delimitation is called off because the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was yet to be updated.
• In 2008, the Delimitation Act was amended and in February 2008 Presidential orders were issued to defer delimitation in these four states.
• In February 2020, the President cleared the decks for the resumption of the delimitation exercise in the four states by cancelling the order of February 2008.
• In March 2020, the Law Ministry notified the Delimitation Commission for the four northeast states and Jammu and Kashmir, which was also left out in 2002-08.

Key Points

• This delimitation will not change the number of seats in these states in the four Northeast states. 
• It will only redraw the boundaries of seats in each state and can rework the number of reserved seats for SCs and STs. 
• Due to the exceptional past circumstances, assembly seats Jammu & Kashmir will now increase from 107 to 114, which is expected to increase the Jammu region’s representation.

Why it is being called illegal?

• The March notification of the Law Ministry violates the Representation of the People Act 1950.
• In 2008, after the President deferred delimitation in these northeastern states the Parliament decided that instead of creating another Delimitation Commission in future for the limited purpose of redrawing seat boundaries in these northeastern states, the exercise there would be carried out by the EC. 
• For this purpose, the Representation of the People Act 1950 was amended, and Section 8A was introduced.

Issue involved

• There is a contradiction between the Law Ministry’s notification of March and Section 8A of the RP Act 1950. 
• The RP Act 1950 clearly states that delimitation in the four northeastern states, when held, would fall within the EC’s remit, the Centre should not have notified a separate Delimitation Commission for this purpose. 
• Therefore, any delimitation exercise in these northeastern states by the new Delimitation Commission would be “declared void by the courts” and, subsequently, result in “wastage of huge precious public funds. 

What is Delimitation? 

• Delimitation is the act of redrawing boundaries of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats to represent changes in population.  This may result in the change in the number of seats allocated to a state. 
• The objective is to provide equal representation for equal population segments and a fair division of geographical areas so that no political party has an advantage.

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 Delimitation Act after every Census.
• The Union government sets up a Delimitation Commission once the Act is in force.

About 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. In case of difference of opinion among members of the Commission, the opinion of the majority prevails.
• It has 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. There was no delimitation after the 1981 and 1991 Censuses.
• The last delimitation exercise between 2002-2008, based on the 2001 Census, only readjusted boundaries of existing Lok Sabha and Assembly seats and reworked the number of reserved seats.