HC refuses urgent hearing on Jharkhand's delimitation issue

The Delhi High Court today declined to give an urgent hearing to a PIL challenging the postponement of implementation of the Delimitation Commission's recommendations in Jharkhand regarding constituencies of Parliament and the legislative Assembly.
A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw said there was no urgency to hear the matter and posted it for hearing on December 3.
The PIL filed by NGO Veterans' Forum for Transparency in Public Life sought a direction to quash and declare as unconstitutional Section 10B of the Delimitation Act, 2002.
It said delimitation in respect of Jharkand has resulted in an increase of Scheduled Caste parliamentary constituencies from 78to 84 and Scheduled Tribe constituencies from 38 to 42.

Section 10B of the Act states that the Delimitation Commission's order with respect to Jharkhand will not to have any legal effect.
The order of the Commission was related to readjustment of the number of seats and delimitation of constituencies in Jharkhand.

The provision, however, states that the order would not have any legal effect and delimitation of the constituencies as it stood before the publication of the April 30, 2007 and August 17, 2007 orders shall continue to be in force until 2026 in relation to every election to the House of the People or to the Legislative Assembly.

The petition sought a direction for "quashing/declaring Section 10-B of the Delimitation Act, 2002 and proviso to Sub-Section (4) of Section 10 of the Delimitation Act, 2002 as unconstitutional and ultra vires to the Constitution of India beside being in gross violation of the constitutional mandate of reservation and also in violation of the rules, regulations, conventions, policy and the scheme of Reservation and in infringement of the legal and fundamental rights of citizens of India".
The petition has arraigned as parties the union government through the Ministries of Home and Parliamentary Affairs and Election Commission of India.
It said the actions of postponing implementation of the delimitation of constituencies of parliament and the legislative Assembly in Jharkhand is unconstitutional and ultra vires to the Constitution.

It added delimitation is a constitutional obligation and must be conducted with every 10-year census of the population conducted by a state.