UNDERSTANDING DELIMITATION IN INDIA: CONSTITUTIONAL CONTROVERSIES AND CHALLENGES
Category: Constitutional law - Administrative affairs policy making
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ABSTRACT
Delimitation could be defined as the process of redrawing boundaries of Lok Sabha and State Assembly constituencies based on a recent Census to ensure that each seat has an almost equal number of voters. Before stumbling upon any controversies, it is imperative to understand the need of the delimitation commission in the very first place. Delimitation is necessary because it tells us how many seats each state gets in the parliament of India, making certain that Lok Sabha seats are not fixed forever in a specific constitutionality.
INTRODUCTION
“It is the responsibility of all of us, especially our youth, who get the right to vote for the first time to exercise their franchise with the utmost sincerity and inspire other too to do so.” ~ Shri Ram Nath Kovind (Hon’ble President of India)
Prima facie, it has been 3 decades since the freeze on the delimitation constituencies of the parliament as was stipulated by the 42nd amendment. Therefore, it is the need of the hour that fresh census data is collected by 2026 so that a delimitation commission can be set up by 2031. If, however, the wait is delayed till 2031 for census figures the deep freeze would continue for a total of 40 years. The Constitution stipulates that constituencies should be allocated to states in proportion to their population, density and other demographic variations. Within states the population in each constituency should be roughly the same.
Delimitation is necessary because it tells us how many seats each state gets in the parliament of India, making certain that Lok Sabha seats are not fixed forever in a specific constitutionality. Article 81 of the Constitution ensures that each state gets roughly the seats according to its size for equal representation. In 1972 the delimitation commission chaired by Justice JL Kapur, recommended the increase of the seats in the Lok Sabha from 522 to 542 and later increased to 543 with the addition of an additional seat in Sikkim. Article 81 states that the house shall consist of members no more than 550 elected members of whom not more than 20 will represent Union Territories.
‘Democracy is rule of the people, for the people and by the people’. These words by Abraham Lincoln support the connotation of ‘one person, one vote and one value’s principle’. Signifying that one person should not have a greater vote than others.
Issues Involved
Since the 1970s, there has been no increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats. This is because in 1976, the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution froze the number of Lok Sabha seats as per the census of 1971, up to the census of 2001. Why were the seats frozen as per 1971 census? To ensure that States follow National Population Policy (NPP) in an effort to control the population explosion which was uneven in states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Certain suggestions, however, that have sprouted up are that since the overwhelming population cannot be controlled the number of seats be increased to 848 with proper representation. However, then again, this approach is very much favoring just the larger states, pushing aside the federal principles of India. This question leads to another, were we ever able to catch up, was there ever another commission set up? No. Taking this to the very extreme, what happens if there is no redrawing of constituencies? The straight jacket answer is that there is no equal representation. This is why Article 82 and Article 170 of the Constitution enacts delimitation act ensuring readjusting of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies after every census. The commission so far has been set up four times in the past under the acts of 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002.
Why is reviewing constituency boundary a necessity?
Status quo the ongoing population movement causes the electorates of some constituencies to grow and others to shrink. If left unchecked, huge disparities would arise in the number of electors represented by each individual MP in the House of Commons.This Commission is not a permanent body and is brought into existence only for the duration in which the process of delimitation occurs. The only 2 reasons that limit us to not bring about any change in the Lok Sabha seats are- first, the democratic pattern observed in states since 1970s, second the crisis of representation due to delay in allocation of seats.
Road Ahead (Proposed Solutions)
It is a must to ensure that democracy is strengthened at the grassroots level, the panchayats and the municipalities, who are a direct point of contact with the citizens.
Delimitation Commissions must not be immune from Judicial Review (A court's power to review the actions of other branches or levels of government) in consistent with provision under Article 329(a) which prohibits the Judiciary from challenging delimitation of electorate districts or the laws that deal with allocation of seats. In Meghraj Kothari v. Delimitation Commission &Ors. a 5-judge Constitution bench judgement in 1967, the Supreme Court supplied a rationale for why courts are kept out of the process. The judicial interference was restricted to avoid unnecessary delay in the election process.
Freezing the seats of Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies without a corresponding freeze on the growth of the population in those constituencies has created several anomalies. Lead to:
Over representing representatives – Representing unmanageable sizes of electorates
Ratio between the number of seats in the house and the population of the State should be practicable.
Even in one State MPs and MLAs do not represent the same size of population with respect to constituencies.
The population continues to rise steadily, the impact of the same is realized after the disproportionalities sprung up. Fresh allocation of seats may not be done before 2026 census, meaning 2031.
CONCLUSION
Amendments in the constitution is much needed to be introduced. Though delimitation is not a regular and continuous process, it’s a periodic exercise that must be practiced on a decennial basis. It is imperative to maintain seat-population ratio, so as to ensure that it does not violate the principle of equal value of vote. This is also why it becomes important to make certain that constituencies are not unevenly divided with uneven population distribution. There is still a lot to be done. A greater role of election commission is needed in the issue of redrawing of constituencies, encompassing transparency.
