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Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) v. Secretary, Governor's Secretariat and Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2019 INSC 1326Decided 6 Dec 2019
Civil Appeal Nos. 5467-5469 of 2017
Chief Justice S.A. Bobde · Justice B.R. Gavai · Justice Surya Kant

Background

DMK's original civil appeal challenged a Madras High Court order refusing to direct the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission to conduct local body elections using the 2011 Census (instead of the 2001 Census) for delimitation and reservation purposes. While that appeal was pending, a new Delimitation Commission completed a fresh delimitation exercise using the 2011 Census figures, but the State Government then carved four existing districts into nine new districts shortly before the Election Commission notified elections, without first re-delimiting the newly split districts. DMK and others filed interlocutory applications seeking to block elections in those nine new districts until proper delimitation was completed there.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the constitutional mandate under Articles 243-B, 243-C and 243-D (proportional panchayat seats and reservations) could not be met in the nine newly-created districts without a fresh delimitation exercise there, so it directed elections to proceed in all other districts as scheduled, but barred elections in the nine reorganised districts until delimitation was completed within four months, with proportionate reservation applied throughout. On the original civil appeals, since the respondents had already shifted to using the 2011 Census for delimitation (DMK's core original grievance), the Court held the appeals had become infructuous and disposed of them accordingly, along with all pending applications.

Lesson Learnt

Courts can treat a case as resolved ("infructuous") once the relief originally sought has effectively already been granted through subsequent administrative action, even without a contested merits ruling, and in election matters, courts will intervene before polling only to ensure procedural prerequisites like delimitation are properly completed, not to question the election itself.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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