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DELIMITATION ACT, 1972
76 of 1972
Articles 82and170 (3)of the Constitution provide that upon the completion of each census- (a) the allocation of seats in the House of the People to the States. (b)the total number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of each State. (c) the division of each Slate into territorial constituencies for electing members to the House of the People and the Legislative Assembly. shall he readjusted by such authority and in such manner as Parliament may by law determine. 2. The present delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies is based on the population figures of the 1961-census. As the 1971 -census has been completed, a readjustment of the several matters specified above, is. therefore. necessary. The object of the Bill is to set up a Delimitation Commission for the purpose of effecting such readjustment on the basis of the population as ascertained at the census of 1971. The Bill seeks to lay down certain instructions as to Ihe manner in which such readjustment will be made for the guidance of the Delimitation Commission and these instructions are based on the relevant provisions of the Constitution and of enactments on the subject. In the Bill. Ihe new Delimitation Commission is given (he task of carrying out delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies in all Sates and Union territories. In other respects, the provisions made in the Bill follow the pattern of the provisions contained in the Delimitation Commission Act, 1962. 3. It has also been provided in the Bill that the readjustment which will be made by ihe Delimitation Commission will apply lo every general election lo the House of the People or lo a Slate Legislative Assembly held after the final orders of the Commission have been published and lo every by-election arising from such general election-S.O.R. Gax. of Ind., 7-12-72. Pi U.S. 2. Ext. p. 1527.
An Act to provide for the readjustment of the allocation of seats in the House of the People to the States, the total number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of each State, in the division of each State and each Union territory having a legislative Assembly and the Union territory of Delhi into territorial constituencies forelections to the House of the People and legislative Assemblies of the States and Union territories and Metropolitan Council of Delhi and for matters connected therewith. Be it enacted hy Parliament in the Twenty-third Year of the Republic of India as follows: -
SECTION 01: SHORT TITLE
- This Act may be called the Delimitation Act, 1972.
SECTION 02: DEFINITIONS
- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires.
(a) "article" means an article of the Constitution;
(b) "associatc member" means a member nominated undersection 5-;
(c) "Commission" means the Delimitation Commission constituted undersection 3-;
(d) "Legislative Assembly" Includes the Metropolitan Council of Delhi;
(e) "latest census figures" means the census Figures as ascertained at the census held in 1971:
(f) "member" means a member of lhc Commission and includes the Chairman;
(g) "Stale" includes a Union territory having a Legislative Assembly but docs not include the Slate of Jammu and Kashmir.
SECTION 3 :CONSTITUTION OF DELIMITATION COMMISSION
(1) As soon as may be after the commence- ment of this Act, the Central (government shall constitute a Commission to be called the Delimitation Commission which shall consist of three members as follows: -
(a) two members, each of whom shall be a person who is or has been a Judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court, to be appointed by lhc Central Government: and
(b) the Chief Election Commissioner, ex officio.
(2) The Central Government shall nominate one of lhc members appointed under clause (a) of sub-section (1) to be the Chairman of the Commission.
SECTION 04: DUTIES OF' THE COMMISSION
- It shall be the duty of the Commission to readjust on the basis oflhe latest census figures the allocation of seats in the House of the People to the several States. the total number ol scats in the Legislative Assembly of each Slate and the division of each State into territorial constituencies for the purpose of elections to the House of the People and to the State Legislative Assembly: Provided that where on such readjustment only one seat is allocated in the House of the People to a State.the whole of the State shall form one territorial constituency for the purpose of elections to the House of the People from that Slate: Provided further that it shall not he necessary for the Commission to readjust the allocation of seats in the House of the People to any Union territory or the total number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of any of the Union territories of Goa, Daman and Diu, Pondicherry and Mizoram or the total number of seats in the Metropolitan Council of the Union territory of Delhi.
SECTION 05: ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
(1) The Commission shall associate with itself for the purpose of assisting it in its duties in respect of each State ten persons Five of whom shall be members of the House of the People representing that State and Five shall be members of the Legislative Assembly of that Stale: Provided that where the number of members of the House of the People representing any State is five or less, then all such members shall be the associate members for that State and in the latter case the total number of associate members shall be less than ten by such member as by which the total number of members of the House of the People representing that State is less than five.
(2) The persons to be so associated from each State shall be nominated in the case of members of the House of the People by the Speaker of that House and in the case of members of a Legislative Assembly, by the Speaker of that Assembly, having due regard to the composi- tion of the House or as the case may be of the Assembly.
(3) The first nominations to be made under sub-section (2)-
(a) shall be made by the Speakers of the several Legislative Assemblies within one month, and by the Speaker of the House of the People within two months of the commencement of this Act, and
(b) shall be communicated to the Chief Election Commissioner and where the nominations are made by the Speaker of a Legislative Assembly, also to the Speaker of the Houseof the People.
(4) None of the associate members shall have a right to vote or to sign any decision of the Commission.
SECTION 06: CASUALVACANCIES
- If owing to death or resignation the office of the Chairman or of a member or of an associate member falls vacant, it shall be filled as soon as may be practicable by the Central Government or the Speaker concerned under and in accordance with the provisions ofsection 3-, or as the case may be, ofsection 5-
SECTION 07: PROCEDURE AND POWERS OF THE COMMISSION
(1) The Commission shall determine its own procedure and shall in the performance of its
functions have all the powers of a civil Court underthe Code of Civil Procedure 1908-while trying a suit in respect of lhc following mailers namely -
(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of witnesses:
(b) requiring the production of any document and
(c) requisitioning any public record from any Court or office.
(2) The Commission shall have power to require any person to furnish any information on such points or mailers as in the opinion of the Commission may be useful for, or relevant to, any matter under lhc consideration of the Commission.
(3) The Commission may authorise any of its members to exercise any of the powers conferred on it by clauses (a) to (c) of sub-section (1) and sub-section (2), and any order made or act done in exercise of any of those powers by the member authorised by the Commission in that behalf shall be deemed to be the order or act, as the case may be of the Commission.
(4) If there is a difference of opinion among the members the opinion of the majority shall prevail and acts and orders of the Commission shall be expressed in terms of lhc views of the majority.
(5) The Commission as well as any group of associate members shall have power to act notwithstanding the temporary absence of a member or associate member or the existence of a vacancy in the Commission or in that or any other group of associate members; and no act or proceeding of the Commission or of any group of associate members; shall he invalid or called in question on lhc ground merely of such temporary absence or of lhc existence of such vacancy.
(6) The Commission shall be deemed to be a civil Court for the purposes ofsections 480-and482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898-.
SECTION 08: READJUSTMENT OF NUMBER OF SEATS
- The Commission shall, on the basis of the latest census Figures and having regard to the provisions ofArticles 81,170,330and332and also in relation to the State of Nagaland clause (2) (h) ofArticle 371Aand sub-section (1 ) ofsection 2 of the State of Nagaland Act, 1962, in relation to the Union territories except Delhisections 3-and39 of the Government of Union Territories Act,1963-and in relation to the Union territory of Delhisection 3and sub-section (1) ofsection 4 of the Delhi Administration Act 1966by order determine-
(a) the number of seats in the House of the People to be allocated to each State and the number of scats if any, to be reserved for the Scheduled Castes and for the Scheduled Tribes of the State; and
(b) the total number of seats to be assigned to the Legislative Assembly of each State and the number of scats, if any, to be reserved for the Scheduled Castes and for the Scheduled Tribes of the State: Provided that the total number of seats assigned to the Legislative Assembly of any State under clause (b) shall be an integral multiple of the number of seats in the House of lhe People allocated to that State under clause (a).
SECTION 09: DELIMITATION OF CONSTITUENCIES
(1) The Commission shall, in the manner herein provided. then distribute the scats in the house of the People allocated to each State and the seats assigned to the Legislative Assembly of each State to single member territorial constituencies and delimit them on the basis of the latest census figures having regard to the provisions of the Constitution and the provision of the Acts specified insection 8-and also to the following provisions namely: -
(a) all constituencies shall, as far as practicable be geographically compact areas, and in delimiting them regard shall be had to physical features existing boundaries of administra - tive units, facilities of communication and public convenience;
(b) every assembly constituency shall be so delimited as to fall wholly within one parliamen- tary constituency;
(c) constituencies in which seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes shall be distributed in different parts of lhe Slate and located, as far as practicable, in those areas where the proportion of their population to the total is comparatively large; and
(d) constituencies in which seats are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes shall, as far as practicable, be located in areas where the proportion of their population lo the total is the largest.
(2) The Commission shall -
(a) publish its proposals for the delimitation of constituencies, together with the dissenting proposals, if any, of any associate member who desires publication thereof, in theGazette of India and in the Official Gazettes of all the States concerned and also in such other manner as it thinks fit;
(b) specify a date on or after which the proposals will be further considered by it;
(c) consider all objections and suggestions which may have been received by it before the date so specified, and for the purpose of such consideration, hold one or more public sittings at such place or places in each State as it thinks fit; and
(d) thereafter by one or more orders determine -
(i) that delimitation of parliamentary constituencies, and
(ii) the delimitation of assembly constituencies, of each Slate.
SECTION 10: PUBLICATION OF ORDERS AND THEIR DATE OF OPERATION
(1) The Commission shall cause each of its orders made undersection 8-orsection 9-to he
published in the Gazette of India and in the Official Gazettes of the States concerned.
(2) Upon publication in the Gazette of India, every such order shall have the force of law and shall not be called in question in any court.
(3) As soon as may be after such publication, every such order shall he laid before the House of the People and the Legislative Assemblies of the Stales concerned.
(4) Subject lo the provisions of sub-section (5), the readjustment of representation of the several territorial constituencies in the House of the People or in the Legislative Assembly of a State and the delimitation of those constituencies provided for in any such order shall apply in relation to every election to the House or to the Assembly, as the case may be, held after the publication in the Gazette of India of that order and shall so apply in supersession of the provisions relating to such representation and delimitation contained inthe Representation of the People Act, 1950- andthe Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 1966, anil any Final orders of the Election Commission relating lo the delimitation of parliamentary constituencies or,
as lhc case may be, of assembly constituencies of any State made in pursuance of the provisions of any other Acts.
(5) Nothing in this section shall affect the representation in the House of the People or in the Legislative Assembly of a Slate until the dissolution of the House or of the Assembly, as the case may be, existing on lhe dale of publication in lhe Gazette of India of the Final order or orders of the Commission relating to the delimitation of parliamentary constituencies or, as the case may be, of the assembly constiluencics of lhat Slate and any bye-election to fill any vacancy in such House or in any such Assembly shall be held on the basis of the provisions ol lhe laws and orders superseded by sub-section (4) as if the said provisions had not been superseded.
SECTION 11: POWER TO MAINTAIN DELIMITATION ORDERS UP-TO-DATE
(1) The Election Commission may. from time to time, by notification in the Gazette of India and in the Official Gazette of the Stale concerned, -
(a) correct any printing mistake in any of the orders made by the Delimitation commission undersection 9-or any error arising therein from an inadvertent slip or omission; and
(b) where the boundaries or name of any district or any territorial division mentioned in any of the said orders are or is altered, make such amendments as appear to it to be necessary or expedient for bringing the orders up-to-date, so, however, that the boundaries or areas or extent of any constituency shall not be changed by any such notification.
(2) Every notification under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is issued, before the House of the People and the Legislative Assembly of the State concerned.
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