Take a look at the essential concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here’s your knowledge nugget for today.(Relevance: UPSC asked a question of the ‘Delimitation Commission’ in 2012. Since delimitation is again in the news, it is important to know the constitutional provisions, historical background, and important court’s judgements related to the delimitation.)Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that delimitation will not lose any Parliamentary seat to the Southern states. The statement came after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin Tuesday announced an all-party meeting on March 5 to discuss the issue of delimitation, saying it is “hanging over southern states like a sword”.Delimitation is expected to be held after the new Census exercise, which is much-delayed. As per the delimitation calendar set earlier, this was to happen by 2026. In Independent India’s history, delimitation has taken place four times – 1952, 1963, 1973, and 2002.Key Takeaways:1. The Election Commission defines delimitation as the process of drawing constituency boundaries for elected bodies based on the population in the most recent Census. Article 82 of the Constitution states that after every Census is completed, the allocation of Lok Sabha seats to each state must be adjusted based on population changes.2. Article 81 states there can be no more than 550 members in the Lok Sabha – 530 from states and 20 from Union Territories. It also says that “the ratio between (the number of seats) and the population of the state is, so far as practicable, the same for all states”. So, each constituency across the country should ideally have the same population.3. The main purpose of undertaking the delimitation exercise is to rationalize the structure and composition of the electoral constituencies. It adheres to the principle of ‘One Vote One Value‘ to provide representation to different sections of the population and remove gross inequalities in the population size of constituencies.Story continues below this ad4. The Constitution has provided for an independent Delimitation Commission every decade to reapportion seats among states. The Commission is appointed by the President of India and comprises a retired judge of the Supreme Court or a high court, the Chief Election Commissioner, and the State Election Commissioner.5. The Commission examines the changes in the population to redraw the constituencies or redraw a new one where it is necessary. The draft report is published in the Gazette of India which is open for public feedback. The final report is published after accounting for the public feedback. Once published, the Commission’s orders are final and, as per the Delimitation Commission Act 1952 and Article 329A of the Constitution, has the “full force of law and shall not be called into question in any court”.6. The required amendment in the Constitution for the implementation of delimitation process includes changes to Article 81 (which defines the composition of the Lok Sabha), Article 170 (composition of Legislative Assemblies), Article 82, Article 55 (deals with the presidential election process for which value of each vote in the electoral college is decided on the population basis), Articles 330 and 332 (covering reservation of seats for the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies, respectively).6. Tamil Nadu and other southern states have argued that they should not be penalized for successfully implementing population control measures compared to high-population states in the north.Story continues below this adChanges in the composition of Lok Sabha as a result of delimitation1. Delimitation has taken place four times – 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002, with the number of seats fixed and readjusted during the first three exercises. The 1952 delimitation exercise set the maximum number of Lok Sabha seats at 500 after the Commission held three public meetings to gather feedback. In the 1952 Lok Sabha polls though, elections were held in 489 seats. In 1957, 494 seats went to polls.2. In 1963, the Delimitation Commission made its first set of changes to the composition of the Lok Sabha. Noting that the average population per constituency had risen from 7.3 lakh to 8.9 lakh, the final order raised the total Lok Sabha seats to 522.3. In 1973, the Commission raised the maximum Lok Sabha members to 545 to account for population growth and the formation of new states. Since then, the number of members has remained unchanged.4. In 1976, the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution froze the number of Lok Sabha seats and put off delimitation for 25 years until the 2001 Census under Article 82. The Indira Gandhi-led Congress government at the time, during the Emergency era, cited “family planning policies” as the reason for this suspension, saying it did not want to punish states with effective population control measures, as their representation in the Lok Sabha would fall compared to states with high populations.Story continues below this ad5. In 2002, another amendment was made under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led BJP government. This 84th Amendment further delayed delimitation for another 25 years. Though constituency boundaries were redrawn to account for changes in population according to the 2001 Census, the total number of Lok Sabha seats and the number of seats allotted to each state remained unchanged. According to the amendment, the next delimitation would have happened only after the 2031 Census. But with the 2021 Census delayed, the government plans to change this. The Census has not been held yet.BEYOND THE NUGGET: Is the Delimitation Commission’s decision beyond judicial review?1. In Kishorchandra Chhanganlal Rathod vs. Union of India case, the appellant filled a writ petition before the Gujarat High Court challenging the reservation of the Bardoli Legislative Assembly Constituency in Gujarat for the Scheduled Caste community. The Gujarat High Court dismissed the writ petition citing Article 329(a) of the Constitution of India, 1950. According to Article 329(a) “the validity of any law relating to the delimitation of constituencies or the allotment of seats to such constituencies, made or purporting to be made under article 327 or article 328, shall not be called in question in any court.”2. The Supreme Court in its judgement in July 2024 held that the constitutional courts can review the orders of the delimitation commission and can also grant appropriate remedy if an order is manifestly arbitrary and irreconcilable to constitutional values.Judicial review provides the remedy to prevent any abuse when harsh measures become necessary to deal with extraordinary situations.Supreme Court judge Justice Surya Kant3. The judgement also cited the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam v. State of T.N. case where the Court was called upon to interpret Articles 243O and 243ZG of the Constitution, which mirror the subject matter of Article 329. In that case, the court rejected the contention that these provisions place a complete bar on judicial intervention. “It was noted that aconstitutional Court can intervene to facilitate the elections or when a case for mala fide or arbitrary exercise of power is made out”, said the judgement.Story continues below this ad(Source: As Stalin says ‘sword’ hanging over South states, what are the delimitation stakes,Delimitation, and the changing India political map, Constitution of India, api.sci.gov.in )Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X.🚨 Click Here to read the Union Budget Special issue of the UPSC Essentials magazine for February 2025. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com🚨