Ten Opposition Leaders Move Supreme Court Against ECI's Draft Delimitation Proposal for Assam

The petition, filed through Advocate Fuzail Ahmad Ayyubi, has specifically assailed the methodology adopted by the Election Commission to carry out the ongoing delimitation exercise in the State of Assam and its draft proposal to differently demarcate the boundaries of the constituencies. The methodology of taking different average assembly sizes for different districts has been called into question, with the petitioners arguing that the population density or populousness has no role to play in the process of delimitation. The petitioners have further contended that while the Constitution of India envisaged an exercise to readjust constituencies to ensure that they were all composed of an almost equal population, by relying on 2001 Census figures, the ECI has created three categories of districts and has taken a different yardstick for the three categories allegedly resulting in a possible deviation of up to 33 percent between the populations of the largest and the smallest constituencies.

Besides this, the petitioners have challenged the constitutionality of Section 8A of the Representation of People Act, 1950, which forms the statutory foundation of the exercise of this power by the Election Commission, on the ground that it is arbitrary and opaque. Not only this, but it has also been alleged that the aforesaid provision is discriminatory towards the State of Assam since the process of delimitation for the rest of the country - such as the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir - has been conducted by a high-powered body headed by a retired Supreme Court judge. However, the Election Commission has been prescribed as the authority to conduct delimitation with respect to Assam and three other northeastern states.

The petition has also relied on purported statements made by the Chief Minister of Assam that the ongoing process would be beneficial to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, to argue that such statements gave rise to apprehensions that the delimitation exercise was not being independently carried out and was dictated by the state government, leading to a loss of confidence in the whole exercise.

Background

In December of last year, the Election Commission began the delimitation of assembly and parliamentary constituencies in Assam by using 2001 Census figures, as per Section 8A of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. This move to redraw the legislative seats in the state was initiated following a request from the union law ministry submitted in November. During this process, no new administrative units in the state may be created till this exercise is complete, as per a ban put in place by the commission. The last time these seats were readjusted was nearly five decades ago, in 1976, on the basis of 1971 Census data.

Although this draft proposal, released by the commission on June 20, has not sought to change the total number of constituencies, their boundaries have been redrawn in light of the changes in demography as reflected in the 2001 Census data. This will reportedly lead to 30 existing assembly constituencies ceasing to exist and 26 new ones being created. In its press note, the ECI said:

"The number of seats in the Legislative Assembly and the House of People in the State of Assam has been retained as 126 and 14 respectively. 19 seats in the Legislative Assembly are proposed to be allocated for Scheduled Tribes out of 126 seats, while 2 seats are proposed to be allocated for Scheduled Tribes out of 14 seats in the House of People allocated to the State of Assam. Similarly, 9 seats in the Legislative Assembly are proposed to be allocated for Scheduled Castes, while 1 seat is proposed to be allocated for Scheduled Castes in the House of People. The draft proposal has been prepared based on administrative units i.e., Development block, Panchayats (VCDC in BTAD) and villages in rural areas and Municipal Boards, wards in urban areas."

The election commission has also solicited suggestions and objections from individuals and organisations before July 11. The press note reads, "The Commission comprising of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar along with Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel is slated to visit Assam again in July 2023 for a public hearing on the draft proposal."

The petitioners, who have moved the Supreme Court against this draft proposal as well as Section 8A of the Representation of the People Act, include Lurinjyoti Gogoi from Assam Jatiya Parishad, Debabrata Saikia and Rokibul Hussain from Indian National Congress, Akhil Gogoi from Raijor Dal, Manoranjan Talukdar from Communist Party of India (Marxist), Ghanakanta Chutia from Trinamool Congress, Munin Mahanta from Communist Party of India, Diganta Konwar from Anchalik Gana Morcha, Mahendra Bhuyan from Nationalist Congress Party, and Swarna Hazarika from Rashtriya Janata Dal.

Case Details

Lurinjyoti Gogoi & Ors. v. Union of India | Diary No. 28012 of 2023