The Delimitation Commission headed by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai finalised the delimitation process in Jammu and Kashmir and released the notification on the new status of 90 Assembly constituencies in the State on May 5.
Salient features
- A day before its term was to end, the Commission, chaired by Justice (retired) Ranjana Prakash Desai and including Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra and J&K State Election Commissioner K.K. Sharma as ex-officio members, met to finalise its order and later issued a gazette notification.
- The new Assembly would have 90 seats, 47 in Kashmir and 43 in Jammu, an increase from the earlier 83, with six of the additional seats being in Jammu and one in Kashmir.
- In a first, nine seats were reserved for the Scheduled Tribes (ST) — six in the Jammu region and three in the Kashmir Valley.
- The Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation Commission notified the new boundaries, names and number of Assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir.
- The delimitation was carried out based on the 2011 Census and other considerations like geographical features and access.
About Delimitation
- Delimitation literally means the act or process of fixing limits or boundaries of territorial constituencies in a country or a province having a legislative body.
- Under Article 82 of the Constitution, the Parliament by law enacts a Delimitation Act after every census. After coming into force commencement of the Act, the Central Government constitutes a Delimitation Commission.
- The job of delimitation is assigned to a high power body. Such a body is known as Delimitation Commission or a Boundary Commission.
- This Delimitation Commission demarcates the boundaries of the Parliamentary Constituencies as per provisions of the Delimitation Act. The present delimitation of constituencies has been done on the basis of 2001 census figures under the provisions of Delimitation Act, 2002.
- However, in 2002, 84th Constitutional Amendment was used to freeze the process of delimitation for Lok Sabha and State assemblies till at least 2026.
- In India, such Delimitation Commissions have been constituted 4 times – in 1952, in 1963, in 1973 and in 2002.
- The Delimitation Commission in India is a high power body whose orders have the force of law and cannot be called in question before any court.
- These orders come into force on a date to be specified by the President of India in this behalf.
- The copies of its orders are laid before the House of the People and the State Legislative Assembly concerned, but no modifications are permissible therein by them.
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