SC sets July deadline for Centre over Manipur, Arunachal, Nagaland & Assam delimitations
SC sets July deadline for Centre over Manipur, Arunachal, Nagaland & Assam delimitations
Digital Desk: The Supreme Court gave the Central government three months to complete the delimitation exercise in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Assam on Monday, after the procedure had been repeatedly delayed.
A bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna accepted the Centre's request for further time, as stated by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, and set the next hearing date for July 21, 2025. The bench directed the government to perform the exercise within the time frame specified.
The Centre noted that while talks were underway in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, the situation in Manipur remained unpredictable due to continuous ethnic conflict, making the exercise difficult to carry out.
The Delimitation Demand Committee submitted the petition on behalf of the Northeast Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, and Nagaland. Advocate G Gangmei, who represented the petitioner, stated that the 2020 presidential decree made delimitation legally unavoidable.
Gangmei, a lawyer, claims that two years after the writ case was filed, no real actions have been made to begin delimitation in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Manipur.
According to Gangmei, "Assam completed its delimitation process in August 2023, following an order from the Ministry of Law and Justice."
The Election Commission of India (ECI) emphasized that it requires specific orders from the Centre before beginning delimitation under Section 8A of the Representation of the People Act of 1950.
The Supreme Court has given the Centre a definite deadline to finish the delimitation procedure by the next hearing in July 2025.
