Public Interest Committee for Scheduling Specific Areas & Anr. vs. Union of India & Ors.
Background
Two writ petitions under Article 32 sought proportional representation for Scheduled Tribes in the Lok Sabha and the Legislative Assemblies of West Bengal and Sikkim, and specifically for the Limboo-Tamang community in Sikkim. In 2003, Parliament had added the Limboo and Tamang communities to the list of Scheduled Tribes in West Bengal and Sikkim, but the Delimitation Commission's 2006 Notification (which formed the basis of the Election Commission's 2008 Order fixing reserved seats) was finalised without accounting for this addition, since it relied on the 2001 census. The petitioners wanted the 2006 Notification and 2008 Order corrected, and challenged a provision of the Representation of the People Act as unconstitutional to the extent it excluded this correction.
Decision Breakdown
The Court held that the 2006 Delimitation Notification, once published under Section 10 of the Delimitation Act, has the force of law and cannot be reopened or challenged in any court: this finality is essential so that delimitation disputes don't hold up elections indefinitely. It found that neither the Delimitation Commission nor the Election Commission has the power to unilaterally amend the published Notification/Order to add reservations for a tribe recognised only after the delimitation exercise was completed; any such correction would require a legislative amendment to the Representation of the People Act's schedules, which is Parliament's domain, not something a court can direct. The Election Commission itself acknowledged that, applying updated population figures, West Bengal would need one additional Scheduled Tribes seat. The Court therefore did not strike down any provision or issue a mandamus, but directed the Union Government to take up the issue of updating delimitation figures (over 50 tribal communities have been added since 2001) with reasonable dispatch, while clarifying that this judgment would not disturb any ongoing or upcoming election schedule.
Lesson Learnt
Courts cannot rewrite a published delimitation order or force the Election Commission/Delimitation Commission to add reserved seats outside the statutory process. Once finalised, such orders have the force of law, and correcting outdated population-based reservations for STs/SCs requires Parliament to legislate, not judicial directions.