Supreme Court grants Centre three months to complete delimitation in four northeast states-OxBig News Network

The Supreme Court of India granted the Centre three months to complete the pending delimitation exercise in the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Assam. This decision came after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta requested additional time to conclude the process. The court has scheduled the next hearing for July 21, 2025, and instructed the Centre to finalise the exercise within the next three months.

A bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna expressed concern over the delay in implementing the delimitation process, despite a 2020 presidential order lifting the deferment. The bench questioned the Centre’s inaction, pointing out that once the President rescinded the notification, it was sufficient to proceed with the exercise. “Where does the government come in?” the court asked.

In its response, the Centre explained that while consultations were taking place in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, the ongoing violence in Manipur had hindered progress in that state. The Centre’s explanation did not convince the court, which urged the government to expedite the process.

The case was brought before the court by the Delimitation Demand Committee for the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, and Nagaland. The committee had filed a petition requesting that the court enforce the delimitation process, pointing out that the 2020 presidential order made it legally mandatory.

Advocate G Gangmei, representing the petitioners, criticised the prolonged delay, highlighting that it had been over two years since the petition was filed with little progress. While Assam completed its delimitation process in August 2023 following an order from the Ministry of Law and Justice, the exercise in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Manipur remains pending.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has stated that it requires specific instructions from the Centre, under Section 8A of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, to proceed with the delimitation exercise. The petition further argued that the delay violated Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, claiming that the northeastern states were being unfairly deprived of the delimitation process.  The petitioners highlighted that the region had held peaceful elections for decades, yet was being subjected to undue delays, placing these states at a disadvantage compared to other parts of the country.