No. LXXXI of 1952
[7th January 1953]
An Act to provide for the readjustment of the representation of territorial constituencies in the House of the People and in the State Legislative Assemblies and the delimitation of those constituencies and for matters connected therewith.
Be it enacted by Parliament as follows:–
1.Short title – This Act may be called the Delimitation Commission Act, 1952.
2. Definitions- In this Act , unless the context otherwise requires-
(a) “ article” means an article of the Constitution;
(b) “ associate member” means a member nominated under section 5;
(c) “Commission” means the Delimitation Commission constituted under section 3;
(d) “latest census figures” mean the census figures as ascertained at the census held in 1951;
(e) “member” means a member of the Commission and includes the Chairman.
3. Constitution of Delimitation Commission –(1) As soon as may be after the commencement of this Act, the Central Government shall constitute a Commission to be called the Delimitation Commission which shall consist of three members as follows:—
(a) two members, each of whom shall be a person who is or has been a Judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court , to be appointed by the Central Government, and
(b) the Chief Election Commissioner, ex-officio.
(2) The Central Government shall nominate one of the members appointed under clause
(a) of sub-section(1) to be the Chairman of the Commission.
4. Duties of the Commission –It shall be the duty of the Commission to readjust the representation of the several territorial constituencies in the House of the People and of the several territorial constituencies in the Legislative Assembly of each State other than Jammu and Kashmir, on the basis of the latest census figures and to delimit the said constituencies.
5. Associate members-(1) For the purpose of assisting the Commission in the readjustment of the representation and in the delimitation of the territorial constituencies, both for the House of the People and the Legislative Assembly, if any, in each State other than the State of Jammu and Kashmir and the State of Bilaspur, the Commission shall associate with itself from that State, if its population according to the latest census figures—
(a) is not less than seventy-five lakhs, seven persons, three of whom shall be members of the House of the People representing that State and four shall be members of the Legislative Assembly of that State;
(b) is less than seventy-five lakhs, but not less than twenty lakhs, five persons, two of whom shall be members of the House of the People representing that State and three shall be members of the Legislative Assembly of that State;
(c) is less than twenty lakhs and the State has a Legislative Assembly, three persons, one of whom shall be a member of the House of the People representing that State and two shall be members of the Legislative Assembly of that State; and
(d) is less than twenty lakhs and the State has no Legislative Assembly, two persons who shall be the members of the House of the People representing that State.
(2) The persons to be so associated from each State shall be nominated, in the case of members of the House of the People , by the Speaker of that House, and in the case of members of a Legislative Assembly ,by the Speaker of that Assembly, having due regard to the composition of the House, or as the case may be , of the Assembly.
(3) The first nominations to be made under sub-section(2)—
(a) shall be made by the Speakers of the several Legislative Assemblies within one month, and by the Speaker of the House of the People within two months, of the commencement of this Act, and
(b) shall be communicated to the Chief Election Commissioner, and where the nominations are made by the Speaker of a Legislative Assembly, also to the Speaker of the House of the People.
(4) None of the associate members shall have a right to vote or to sign any decision of the Commission.
(6) Casual vacancies—If owing to death or resignation the office of the Chairman or of a member or of an associate member falls vacant, it shall be filled as soon as may be practicable by the Central Government or the Speaker concerned under and in accordance with the provisions of section 3 or as the case may be, of section 5.
(7) Procedure and Powers of the Commission -(1) The Commission shall determine its procedure and shall in the performance of its functions have all the powers of a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act V of 1908) , while trying a suit, in respect of the following matters, namely:—
(a) Summoning and enforcing the attendance of witnesses;
(b) requiring the production of any document ; and
(c) requisitioning any public record from any court or office.
(2) The Commission shall have power to require any person to furnish any information on such points or matters as in the opinion of the Commission may be useful for, or relevant to , any matter under the consideration of the Commission.
(3) The Commission may authorise any of its members to exercise any of the powers conferred on it by clauses (a) to (c) of sub-section (1) and sub-section
(2), and any order made or act done in exercise of any of those powers by the member authorised by the Commission in that behalf shall be deemed to be the order or act, as the case may be, of the Commission.
(4) If there is a difference of opinion among the members , the opinion of the majority shall prevail, and acts and orders of the Commission shall be expressed in terms of the views of the majority.
(5) The Commission as well as any group of associate members shall have power to act notwithstanding the temporary absence of a member or associate member or the existence of a vacancy in the Commission or in that or any other group of associate members; and no act or proceeding of the Commission or of any group of associate members shall be invalid or called in question on the ground merely of such temporary absence or of the existence of such vacancy.
(8) Manner of making readjustment and delimitation-(1) The Commission shall, in the manner herein provided, first determine on the basis of the latest census figures—-
(a) the number of seats to be allotted to each of the States in the House of the People and the number of seats, if any , to be reserved for the scheduled castes and for the scheduled tribes of the State, and in doing so, shall have regard to the provisions of article 81 and article 330; and
(b) the number of seats to be assigned to the Legislative Assembly of each Part A State and of each Part B State other than Jammu and Kashmir, and the number of seats, if any , to be reserved therein for the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes of the State, and in doing so, shall have regard to the provisions of article 170 and article 332, and shall also ensure that the total number of seats assigned to the Legislative Assembly of a State forms an integral multiple of the total number of seats allotted to that State in the House of the People : Provided that no reduction shall be made in the number of seats in the House of the People at present allotted to any Part C State which has no Legislative Assembly.
(2) The Commission shall, in the manner herein provided, then distribute the seats allotted to each of the States other than Jammu and Kashmir in the House of the People, the seats assigned to the Legislative Assembly of each Part A State and of each Part B State other than Jammu and Kashmir, and the seats allotted to the Legislative Assemblies of certain Part C States under section 3 of the Government of Part C States Act, 1951(XLIX of 1951) , to territorial constituencies and delimit them in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and of the said section 3 on the basis of the latest census figures, and in doing so, the Commission shall have regard to the following provisions, namely :—–
(a) all constituencies shall be either single-member constituencies or two-member constituencies;
(b) wherever practicable, seats may be reserved for the scheduled castes or for the scheduled tribes in single-member constituencies;
(c) in every two-member constituency, one seat shall be reserved either for the scheduled castes or for the scheduled tribes, and the other seat shall not be so reserved;
(d) constituencies in which a seat is reserved either for the scheduled castes or for the scheduled tribes shall, as far as practicable be located in areas in which the population of the scheduled castes or, as the case may be, of the scheduled tribes is most concentrated but in regard to scheduled castes, care should be taken to distribute the reserved seats in different areas of the State; and
(e) all constituencies shall, as far as practicable, consist of geographically compact areas, and in delimiting them, regard shall be had to physical features, existing boundaries of administrative units, facilities of communication and public convenience:
Provided that the Commission may, if it finds it necessary so to do, Continue either or both of the existing three-member constituencies, whether with or without alterations in their boundaries, reserving therein one seat for the scheduled castes and another seat for the scheduled tribes.
(3) First in respect of the determination of numbers under sub-section (1), and then again in respect of the distribution of seats and delimitation of constituencies under sub-section (2), the Commission shall –
(a) publish its proposals, together with the dissenting proposals, if any, of an associate member who desires publication thereof, in the Gazette of India and Official Gazettes of all the States concerned and also in such other manner as it thinks fit;
(b) specify a date on or after which the proposals will be further considered by it;
(c) Consider all objections and suggestions which may have been received by it before the date so specified, and for the purpose of such consideration, hold one or more public sittings at such place or places as it thinks fit; and
(d) thereafter, determine the matters referred to in sub-section(1) or, as the case may be, in sub-section(2) by one or more final orders
9. Readjustment of representation and the date of operation of such readjustment.- (1) The Commission shall cause each of its final orders to be published in the Gazette of India; and upon such publication, the order shall have the full force of law and shall not be called in question in any court.
(2) As soon as may be after such publication, every such order shall be laid before the House of the People.
(3) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (4), the readjustment of the presentation of the several territorial constituencies in the House of the People or in the Legislative Assembly of a State and the delimitation of those constituencies provided for in any such order shall apply in relation to every election to the House of the People or to the Legislative Assembly of such State, as the case may be, held after the publication in the Gazette of India of that order, and shall so apply in supersession of the provisions relating to such representation contained in the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (XLIII of 1950), the Government of Part C States Act, 1951(XLIX of 1951) and the orders made under either of the said Acts.
10. Amendment of orders of the Commission.- At any time within six months of the date of publication in the Gazette of India of any order of the Commission under sub-section (1) of section 9, any clerical or arithmetical mistake in the order and any error arising therein from an accidental slip or omission may be corrected by the Chief Election Commissioner by order made with the previous approval of the other members of the Commission or of such of them as may be then available and published in the Gazette of India
K.V.K.SUNDARAM
Secretary
