The Union Law Ministry on March 6, 2020 issued an order to set up a Delimitation Commission for the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir and the northeastern States of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland.
Chairman and Members: The Delimitation Commission will be headed by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai and will have Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra as the ex-officio member of the Commission. Election Commissioners of the concerned States and UTs will also be members.
The exercise to readjust the division of each State and the UTs into territorial constituencies for the purpose of elections to the Lok Sabha and to the State Legislative Assemblies on the basis of the 2001 Census figures was last completed on November 26, 2008.
However, this exercise was postponed in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland on apprehension of threat to peace and public order.
About Delimitation Commission
The Delimitation Commission in India is a powerful body, whose orders have the force of law and cannot be called in question before any court.
The job of delimitation is assigned to a high power body. Such a body is known as Delimitation Commission or a Boundary Commission. In India, such Delimitation Commissions have been constituted 4 times – in 1952 under the Delimitation Commission Act, 1952, in 1963 under Delimitation Commission Act, 1962, in 1973 under Delimitation Act, 1972 and in 2002 under Delimitation Act, 2002.
According to the Delimitation Commission Act, 2002, the Delimitation Commission appointed by the Centre has to have three members: a serving or retired judge of the Supreme Court as the chairperson, and the Chief Election Commissioner or Election Commissioner nominated by the CEC and the State Election Commissioner as ex-officio members.
