DELIMITATION ACT, 1972
[REPEALED] DELIMITATION
ACT, 1972 [Act, No.
76 of 1972] 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 for
elections 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 by Parliament
in the Twenty-third Year of the Republic of India as follows: - This Act may be called the
Delimitation Act, 1972. In this Act, unless the
context otherwise requires. (a)
"article" means an article of the Constitution; (b)
"associate member" means a member nominated under
section 5; (c)
"Commission" means the Delimitation Commission
constituted under section 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 the Commission and includes
the Chairman; (g)
"Stale" includes a Union territory having a Legislative
Assembly but docs not include the State of Jammu and Kashmir. (1) As soon
as may be after the commencement ofthis Act, the Central (government shall
constitute a Commission to be called theDelimitation Commission which shall
consist of three members as follows: - (a) ?two members, each of whom shall be a personwho
is or has been a Judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court, to beappointed
by the Central Government; and (b) ?the Chief Election Commissioner, exofficio. (2) The
Central Government shall nominate oneof the members appointed under clause (a)
of sub-section (1) to be the Chairmanof the Commission. It shall be the duty of the
Commission to readjust on the basis of the latest census figures the allocation
of seats in the House of the People to the several State the total number of
seats 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. (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 State: 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 composition 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 House of the People. (4)
None of the associate members shall have a right to vote or to
sign any decision of the Commission. 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
of section 3, or as the case may be, of section 5. (1)
The Commission shall determine its own procedure and shall in the
performance of its functions have all the powers of a civil Court under the
Code of Civil Procedure 1908,while trying a suit in respect of the 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 the 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 the 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 the ground merely of such temporary absence or of the existence of
such vacancy. (6)
The Commission shall be deemed to be a civil Court for the
purposes of sections 480 and 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898. The Commission shall, on
the basis of the latest census Figures and having regard to the provisions
of Articles 81, 170, 330 and 332 and also in
relation to the State of Nagaland clause (2) (h) of Article 371A and
sub-section (1) of section 2 of the State of Nagaland Act, 1962, in
relation to the Union territories except Delhi sections
3 and 39 of the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963 and in
relation to the Union territory of Delhi section 3and sub-section (1) of
section 4 of the Delhi Administration Act 1966 by order determine- (a)
the number of seats in the House of the People to be allocated to
each State and the number of seats 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 seats, 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 the People
allocated to that State under clause (a). (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 in section 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 administrative units, facilities of communication and
public convenience; (b)
every assembly constituency shall be so delimited as to fall
wholly within one parliamentary constituency; (c)
constituencies in which seats are reserved for the Scheduled
Castes shall be distributed in different parts of the 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 the Gazette 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 State. (1)
The Commission shall cause each of itsorders made under section 8
or section 9 to he published in the Gazette of Indiaand 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 questionin any court. (3)
As soon as may be after such publication,every such order shall be
laid before the House of the People and theLegislative Assemblies of the Stales
concerned. (4)
Subject lo the provisions of sub-section(5), the readjustment of
representation of the several territorialconstituencies in the House of the
People or in the Legislative Assembly of aState and the delimitation of those
constituencies provided for in any suchorder 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 thatorder and shall so apply in super
session of the provisions relating to suchrepresentation and delimitation
contained in the Representation of the PeopleAct, 1950 and the Delimitation of
Parliamentary and Assembly ConstituenciesOrder, 1966, and any Final orders of
the Election Commission relating to thedelimitation of parliamentary
constituencies or, as the case may be, of assemblyconstituencies of any State
made in pursuance of the provisions of any otherActs. (5)
Nothing in this section shall affect therepresentation in the
House of the People or in the Legislative Assembly of aState until the
dissolution of the House or of the Assembly, as the case may be,existing on the
dale of publication in the Gazette of India of the Final orderor orders of the
Commission relating to the delimitation of parliamentaryconstituencies or, as
the case maybe, of the assembly constituencies of thatState and any
bye-election to fill any vacancy in such House or in any suchAssembly shall be
held on the basis of the provisions of the laws and orderssuperseded by
sub-section (4) as if the said provisions had not been superseded. (1)
The Election Commission may from time to time, by notification in
the Gazette of India and in the Official Gazette of the State concerned, (a)
correct any printing mistake in any of the orders made by the
Delimitation commission under section 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. THE DELIMITATION ACT, 2002 [Act No. 33 of 2002] [03rd June, 2002] 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, the division of each State and each Union territory having a
Legislative Assembly into territorial constituencies for elections to the House
of the People and Legislative Assemblies of the States and Union territories
and for matters connected therewith. Be it enacted by Parliament
in the Fifty-third Year of the Republic of India as follows:-- This Act may be called the
Delimitation Act,2002. In this Act, unless the
context otherwise requires,-- (a)
"article" means an article of the Constitution; (b)
"associate member" means a member nominated
under section 5; (c)
"Commission" means the Delimitation Commission
constituted under section 3; (d)
"Election Commission" means the Election Commission
referred to in article
324; (e)
"member" means a member of the Commission and includes
the Chairperson; and (f)
"State" includes a Union territory having a
Legislative Assembly but does not include the State of Jammu
and Kashmir. As soon as may be after the
commencement 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)
one member, who shall be a person who is or has
been a Judge of the Supreme Court, to be appointed by the Central
Government who shall be the Chairperson of the Commission; (b)
the Chief Election Commissioner or an Election Commissioner
nominated by the Chief Election Commissioner, ex off do: Provided that after the nomination
of an Election Commissioner as a member under this clause, no
further nomination under this clause shall be made
except to fill the casual vacancy of such member under section 6;and (c) the State
Election Commissioner of concerned State, ex officio. [1] [Explanation.--For
the purposes of clause (c), the State Election Commissioner
of concerned State,-- (i)??? in respect of the duties of the Commission
relating to a State (other than the States of Meghalaya, Mizoram and
Nagaland), means the State Election Commissioner appointed by the
Governor of that State under clause (1) of article 243K; and (ii)??? in respect of the duties of the Commission
relating to the State of Meghalaya or the State of Mizoram or the
State of Nagaland, as the case may be, means a person nominated by
the Governor of that State for such purposes.] (1)
The readjustment made, on the basis of the census figures as
ascertained at me census held in the year1971 by the Delimitation
Commission constituted under section
3 of the Delimitation Act, 1972 (76 of 1972),of
the allocation of seats in the House of the People to the several
States and the total number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of
each State snail be deemed to be the readjustment made by the
Commission for the purposes of this Act. (2)
Subject to the provisions of sub-section(1) and any other
law for the time being in force, the Commission shall readjust 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 on the basis of the census figures as ascertained
at the census held in the year [2]
Preamble 1 - DELIMITATION ACT, 1972PREAMBLE
PREAMBLE
Provided
that whereon such readjustment only one seat is allocated in the House of the
People to a State, the whole of that State shall form one
territorial constituency for the purpose of elections to the House of the People
from that State.
5. 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 State:
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 number 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 the 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 composition 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 a remade by the
Speaker of a Legislative Assembly, also to the Speaker of the House of the
People.
(4) None of
the associate members shall have a right to vote or to sign any decision of the
Commission.
(5) The
Commission shall have power to call upon?
(a)
the Registrar-General and Census Commissioner, India or his
nominee; or
(b)
the Surveyor General of India or his nominee; or
(c)
any other officer of the Central Government or State Government;
or
(d)
any expert in geographical information system; or
(e)
any other person whose expertise and knowledge are considered
necessary by the Commission to provide assistance to it in addition 10 the
assistance provided by the persons referred to in sub?section (1) and the
officers and persons so called upon shall be duty bound to assist the
Commission.
(6) The
Secretary to the Election Commission shall be the ex officio Secretary of the
Commission and shall discharge his functions with the assistance of the
employees of the Election Commission under the supervision of the Chairperson
of the Commission.
6. Casual vacancies
If the
office of the Chairperson or of a member or of an associate member falls vacant
owing to his death or resignation, 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 of section 3 of, as the
case may be, of section 5.
7. 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 under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of
1908),while trying a suit, in respect of the following matters, 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 matters as in the opinion of the Commission
may be useful for, or relevant to, any matter under the consideration of the
Commission.
(3)
The Commission may authorize 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 authorized 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 the views of the majority.
(5)
The Commission as well as any group of associate members shall
have power to act not withstanding 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 be invalid or called in
question on the ground merely of such temporary absence or of the existence of
such vacancy.
(6)
The Commission shall be deemed to be a
civil court for the purposes of sections 345 and 346 of the
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
Explanation.--For the
purposes of enforcing the attendance of witnesses, the local limits of the
jurisdiction of the Commission shall be the limits of the territory of India.
8. Readjustment of number of seats
The
Commission shall, having regard to the provisions of articles
81, 170, 330 and 332, and also, in relation to the Union
territories, except National Capital Territory of
Delhi, sections 3 and 39 of the Government of Union Territories
Act, 1963 (20 of 1963) and in relation to the National Capital Territory of
Delhi sub-clause (b) of clause (2) of article 239AA, by order, determine,--
(a) ??on the basis of the
census figures as ascertained at the census held in the year 1971 and subject
to the provisions of section4, the number of seats in the House of the People
to be allocated to each State and determine on the basis of the census figures
as ascertained at the census held in the year 1 [2001] the
number of seats, if any, to be reserved for the Scheduled Castes and for the
Scheduled Tribes of the State; and
(b) ??on the basis of the
census figures as ascertained at the census held in the year 1971 and subject
to the provisions of section 4, the total number of seats to be assigned to the
Legislative Assembly of each State and determine on the basis of the census
figures as ascertained at the census held in the year [3] [2001] the number of seats, 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
Slate under clause (b) shall be an integral multiple of the number of seats in
the House of the People allocated to that State under clause (a).
9. Delimitation of constituencies
(1)
The Commission shall, in the manner herein provided,
then, distribute the seats in the House of the People allocated to each State
and the seats assigned to the Legislative Assembly of each State as readjusted
on the basis of 1971 census to single-member territorial constituencies and
delimit them on the basis of the census figures as ascertained, at the census
held in the year [4] [2001], having regard to the provisions of the Constitution, the
provisions of the Act specified in section 8 and 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 administrative units, facilities of communication and
public convenience;
(b)
every assembly constituency shall be so delimited as to fall
wholly within one parliamentary constituency;
(c)
constituencies in which seats are reserved for the Scheduled
Castes shall be distributed in different parts of the State 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 to 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 the Gazette 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 shall 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) ???the delimitation of
parliamentary constituencies; and
(ii)?? the delimitation of
assembly constituencies, of each State.
10. Publication of orders and their date of operation
(1)
The Commission shall cause each of its orders made under
section 8 or section 9 to be published in the Gazette of India and in the
Official Gazettes of the States concerned and simultaneously cause
such orders to be published at least in two vernacular newspapers and publicize
on radio, television and other possible media available to the public and after
such publication in the Official Gazettes of the States concerned, every
District Election Officer shall cause to be affixed, the Gazette version of
such orders relating to the area under his jurisdiction, on a conspicuous part
of his office for public notice.
(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 be laid before the
House of the People and the Legislative Assemblies of the States concerned.
(4) Subject
to 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 super session of the
provisions relating to such representation and delimitation contained in any
other law for the time being in force or any order or notification issued under
such law in so far as such representation and delimitation are inconsistent
with the provisions of this Act.
(5) Nothing
in this section shall affect the representation in the House of the People or
in the Legislative Assembly of a State until the dissolution of the House or of
the Assembly, as the case may be, existing on the date of publication in the
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 constituencies of that State 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 of the laws and orders superseded by sub-section (4) as if the said
provisions had not been superseded.
(6) The
Commission shall endeavor to complete and publish each of its orders referred
to in sub-section (1) in the manner provided in that sub-section, within two
years of the constitution of the Commission under section 3.
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 State concerned,--
(a) correct
any printing mistake in any of the orders made by the Commission under section9
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.
12. Repeal
The Delimitation Act,1972
is hereby repealed.
Statement
of Objects and Reasons - DELIMITATION ACT, 1972
STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS
1.
Articles 82 and 170(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 State into territorial constituencies for electing members to
the House of the People and the Legislative Assembly shall be readjusted by
such authority and in such manner as Parliament may by law determine.
2.
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 bash of the
population as ascertained at the census of 1971. The Bill seeks to lay down
certain instructions as to the 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, the new Delimitation Commission. is given the task of
carrying out delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies in all
States and Union territories. In other respect, the provisions made in the Bill
follow the pattern of the provisions contained in the Delimitation Commission
Act, 1982.
3.
It has also been provided in the Bill that the readjustment which
will be made by the Delimitation Commission will apply to every general
election to the House of the People or to a State Legislative Assembly held
after the final orders of the Commission have been published and to every
bye-election arising from such general election.
[1]
Substituted
by Delimitation (amendment) Act, 2003 (3 of2004) w.e.f.
31.10.2003.Prior to substitution it read as under:
"Explanation.--For
the purposes of clause (c), the Slate Election Commissioner of
concerned State, in respect of the duties of the Commission relating
to that State, means the State Election Commissioner appointed by the
Governor of that State under clause (7) of article 243K."
[2] Word
"1991" substituted by Delimitation (amendment) Act, 2003 (3 of 2004) w.e.f. 31.10.2003.
[3] Word
"1991" substituted by Delimitation (amendment) Act, 2003 (3 of 2004) w.e.f. 31.10.2003.
[4]
Word
"1991" substituted
by Delimitation (amendment) Act, 2003 (3 of 2004) w.e.f. 31.10.2003.