 bill no 22 of 2008 the representation of the people (amendment) bill, 2008 a billfurther to amend the representation of the people act,  1950be it enacted by parliament in the fifty-ninth year of the republic of india as follows:—1  (1) this act may be called the representation of the people (amendment) act, 2008short title and commencement(2) it shall come into force on such date as the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, appointamendment of section 443 of 19502  in section 4 of the representation of the people act, 1950 (hereinafter referred to as the principal act), for sub-section (5), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:—33 of 2002"(5) save as provided in sub-section (4), the extent of all parliamentary constituencies except the parliamentary constituencies in the states of arunachal pradesh, assam, jharkhand, manipur and nagaland shall be as determined by the orders of the delimitation commission made under the provisions of the delimitation act, 2002 and the extent of the parliamentary constituencies in the states of arunachal pradesh, assam, jharkhand, manipur and  nagaland shall be as provided for in the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies order, 2008 having regard to the provisions of sections 10a and 10b of the delimitation act, 2002" 3 in section 7 of the principal act,—amendment of section 7(i) in sub-section (ib), in clause (a), for the words "thirty-nine seats", the words"fifty-nine seats" shall be substituted;(ii) for sub-section (3), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:—33 of 2002"(3) the extent of each assembly constituency in all the states and union territories except the assembly constituencies in the states of arunachal pradesh, assam, jharkhand, manipur and nagaland shall be as determined by the orders of the delimitation commission made under the provisions of the delimitation act, 2002 and the extent of each assembly constituency in the states of  arunachal pradesh, assam, jharkhand, manipur and nagaland shall be as provided for in the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies order, 2008 having regard to the provisions of sections 10a and 10b of the delimitation act, 2002"4 in section 8 of the principal act,—amendment of section 8(i) for sub-section (1), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:—"(1) having regard to all the orders referred to in sub-section (5) of section4 and sub-section (3) of section 7 relating to the delimination of parliamentary and assembly constituencies in all states and union territories, except the state of arunachal pradesh, assam, jharkhand, manipur and nagaland, made by the delimitation commission and published in the official gazette, the election commission shall—(a) after making such amendments as appear to it to be necessary for bringing up-to-date the description of the extent of the parliamentary and assembly constituencies as given in such orders, without, however, altering the extent of any such constituency;33 of 2002(b) after taking into account the provisions of the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies order, 1976, as made applicable pursuant to the orders made by the president under section 10a of the delimitation act, 2002 relating to delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies in the states of arunachal pradesh, assam, manipur and nagaland, and the provisions of section 10b of the said act relating to delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies in the state of jharkhand, consolidate all such orders into one single order to be known as the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies order, 2008 and shall send authentic copies of that order to the central government and to the government of each state having a legislative assembly; and thereupon that order shall supersede all the orders referred to in sub-section (5) of section 4 and subsection (3) of section 7 and shall have the force of law and shall not be called in question in any court";76 of 1972 33 of 2002(ii) in sub-section (3), for the words, brackets and figures "as provided in subsection (5) of section 10 of the delimitation act, 1972", the words, brackets and figures "as provided in sub-section (5) of section 10 of the delimitation act, 2002" shall be substituted 5 after section 8 of the principal act, the following section shall be inserted, namely:—insertion of new section 8a33 of 2002"8a (1) if the president is satisfied that the situation and the conditions prevailing in the states of arunachal pradesh, assam, manipur and nagaland are conducive for the conduct of delimitation exercise, he may, by order, rescind the deferment order issued under the provisions of section 10a of the delimitation act, 2002 in relation to that state, and provide for the conduct of delimitation exercise in the state by the election commissionpradesh, assam, manipur and nagaland(2) as soon as may be after the deferment order in respect of a state is rescinded under sub-section (1), the election commission may, by order, determine—(a) the parliamentary constituencies into which such state to which more than one seat is allotted in the first schedule shall be divided;(b) the extent of each constituency; and (c) the number of seats, if any, reserved for the scheduled castes or the scheduled tribes (3) as soon as may be after the deferment order in respect of a state is rescinded under sub-section (1), the election commission may, by order, determine—(a) the assembly constituencies into which such state shall be divided for the purpose of elections to the legislative assembly of that state;(b) the extent of each constituency; and (c) the number of seats, if any, reserved for the scheduled castes or the scheduled tribes33 of 2002(4) subject to the provisions of sub-section (1), the election commission shall, having regard to the provisions of the constitution and the principles specified in clauses (c) and (d) of sub-section (1) of section 9 of the delimitation act, 2002 determine the parliamentary and assembly constituencies in the states of arunachal pradesh, assam, manipur and nagaland in which seats shall be reserved, if any, for the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes(5) the election commission shall,—(a) publish its proposals under sub-sections (2), (3) and (4) with respect to any state in the official gazette 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;(d) hold, for the purpose of such consideration, if it thinks fit so to do, one or more public sittings at such place or places in such state as it thinks fit;(e) after considering all objections and suggestions which may have been received by it before the date so specified, determine, by order, the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies in the state and also the constituency or constituencies in which seats shall be reserved, if any, for the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes and cause such order to be published in the official gazette; and, upon such publication, the order shall have the force of law and shall not be called in question in any court and the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies order, 2008 shall be deemed to have been amended accordingly (6) every order made under sub-sections (1) and (2) and clause (e) of subsection (5) shall be laid before each house of parliament(7) every order made under sub-sections (1) and (3) and clause (e) of subsection (5) shall, as soon as may be after it is published under that sub-section, be laid before the legislative assembly of the state concerned6 in section 9 of the principal act, in sub-section (1), for clauses (a) and (aa), the following clauses shall be substituted, namely:—''(a) correct any printing mistake in the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies order, 2008 or any error arising therein from inadvertent slip or omission;(aa) make such amendments in the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies order, 2008 as appear to it to be necessary or expedient for consolidating with that order any notification or order relating to delimitation of parliamentary or assembly constituencies (including reservation of seats for the scheduled castes or the scheduled tribes in such constituencies) issued under section 8a of this act or any other central act;" 7 section 9a and section 9b of the principal act shall be omittedomission of sections 9a and 9b8 for the first schedule and the second schedule of the principal act, the following schedules shall be substituted, namely:—substitution of new schedules for the first schedule and the second schedule "the first schedule (see section 3) allocation of seats in the house of the peoplename of the state/union territorynumber of seats in the house as subsequently constituted as per the delimitation ofparliamentary andassembly constituencies order, 2008number of seats in the house as constituted in 2004 on the basis of the delimitation ofparliamentary and assemblyconstituencies order, 1976 as amended from time to timesl nototalreservedreservedtotalreservedreservedfor thefor thefor thefor thescheduledscheduledscheduled scheduledcastestribescastestribes1234567i states:1andhra pradesh426242732arunachal pradesh223assam141214124bihar4074065chhattisgarh112411146goa227gujarat262426248haryana1021029himachal pradesh414110jammu and kashmir6611jharkhand1415141512karnataka284285213kerala20220214madhya pradesh2945294615maharashtra4834485416manipur212117meghalaya22218mizoram111119nagaland1120orissa2135213521punjab13313422rajasthan2543254323sikkim1124tamil nadu39739725tripura212126uttarakhand55127uttar pradesh8018801728west bengal428242102| 1                      | 2                      | 3   | 4   | 5   | 6   | 7   ||------------------------|------------------------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|| ii union territories: |                        |     |     |     |     |     || 1                     | andaman and nicobar    |     |     |     |     |     || islands                | 1                      |   |   | 1   |   |   || 2                     | chandigarh             | 1   |   |   | 1   |   || 3                     | dadra and nagar haveli | 1   |   | 1   | 1   |   || 4                     | delhi                  | 7   | 1   |   | 7   | 1   || 5                     | daman and diu          | 1   |   |   | 1   |   || 6                     | lakshadweep            | 1   |   | 1   | 1   |   || 7                     | puducherry             | 1   |   |   | 1   |   || total                  |                        |     |     |     |     |     | the second schedule (see section 7 and 7a)total number of seats in the legislative assembliesname of the state/ union territorynumber of seats in the house as constituted on the basis of the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies order, 1976 as amended from time to timenumber of seats in the house as subsequently constituted as per the delimitation ofparliamentary andassembly constituencies order, 2008totalreservedreservedtotalreservedreservedfor thefor thefor thefor thescheduledscheduledscheduled scheduledcastestribescastestribes1234567i states:1andhra pradesh294391529448192arunachal pradesh605960593assam1268161268164bihar243392433825chhattisgarh9010349010296goa4014017gujarat182132618213278haryana901790179himachal pradesh681636817310jammu and kashmir76611jharkhand819288192812karnataka224332224361513kerala14013114014214madhya pradesh2303441230354715maharashtra2881822288292516manipur601196011917meghalaya6055605518mizoram4039403819nagaland6059605920orissa1472234147243321punjab117291173422rajasthan2003324200342523sikkim322123221224tamil nadu23442323444225tripura6072060102026uttarakhand701237013227uttar pradesh403894038528west bengal29459172946816ii union territories:1delhi701370122puducherry305305under the constitution of jammu and kashmir, the number of seats in the legislative assembly of that state excluding the 24 seats earmarked for pakistan occupied territory is 87 out of which 7 seats have been reserved for the scheduled castes in pursuance of the jammu and kashmir representation of the people statement  of  objects  and  reasonsunder the provisions of articles 82 and 170(3) of the constitution, as amended by the constitution (eighty-fourth amendment) act, 2001, parliament enacted the delimitation act,2002 in terms of the provisions contained in the delimitation act, the delimitation commission was set up to readjust the division of each state and union territory into territorial constituencies for the purpose of elections to the house of the people and to the state legislative assemblies on the basis of 2001 census2 the delimitation commission has since completed the delimitation work in respect of 25 states/union territories and accordingly issued final orders under sections 8 and 9 of the delimitation act recently, the delimitation (amendment) ordinance, 2008 (ordinance 1of 2008) was promulgated on 14th january, 2008 to insert new sections 10a and 10b in the delimitation act section 10a of the delimitation act empowers the president to defer delimitation exercise in a state in certain cases in view of the prevailing conditions in north- east states of arunachal pradesh, assam, manipur and nagaland, four orders to defer the delimitation exercise in these states have been issued by the president on 8th february, 2008 section 10b of the delimitation act has nullified the delimitation commission's orders issued with respect to the states of jharkhand3 in view of above, in the states of arunachal pradesh, assam, manipur, nagaland and jharkhand, the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies order, 1976 will continue to apply the final orders in respect of the remaining 24 states/union territories (except the state of jharkhand) were required to be brought into force as provided in the second proviso to article 82 and the second proviso to clause (3) of article 170 of the constitution by specifying the date by the president, as to when the re-adjustments shall take effect in pursuance of the above provisions, the presidential order has been issued on19th february, 2008 making delimitation orders issued by the delimitation commission under the delimitation act, effective from immediate effect in all the 22 states/union territories except in the states of tripura and meghalaya in which case, the delimitation order shall take effect from 20th march, 2008 after the elections to the legislative assemblies in these states are over on 19th march, 20084 the representation of the people act, 1950 (43 of 1950) (the rp act) provides for the allocation of seats in and the delimitation of constituencies for the purpose of election to, the house of the people and the legislatures of the states, preparation of electoral rolls, etc, and for matters connected therewith the first schedule and the second schedule to the said act provides for allocation of seats in the house of the people and the total number of seats in the legislative assemblies alongwith the number of seats reserved for the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes therein with the issuance of the presidential order specifying the date on which the delimitation orders notified by the delimitation commission shall take effect, it is necessary to amend the relevant provisions and the first and the second schedule of the rp act to reflect the changes made by the delimitation orders notified by the delimitation commission5 in the bill, it is also proposed to insert new section 8a in the rp act, which will enable the election commission to conduct delimitation exercise in the north-east states (where delimitation exercise had been deferred in the exigencies of the prevailing conditions), as soon as the conditions in these states become conducive to the conduct of delimitation work sections 8 and 9 of the rp act are proposed to be amended to enable the election commission to consolidate the delimitation orders issued by the delimitation commission into a single order by superceding the existing delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies order, 1976 having regard to sections 10a and 10b of the delimitation act, 20026 the bill seeks to achieve the above said objectiveshans  raj  bhardwajnew delhi;the 28th february, 2008 memorandum  regarding  delegated  legislationclause 4 (i) of the bill provides for substitution of sub-section (1) of section 8 of the representation of the people act, 1950 which empowers the election commission to consolidate all orders relating to delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies into one single order to be known as the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies order, 2008, and to maintain them up-to-date2 caluse 5 of the bill provides for insertion of new section 8a in the said act subsection (1) of section 8 a empowers the central government to assess the situation in the north-east states, namely, arunachal pradesh, assam, manipur and nagaland as to whether the conditions prevailing there are conducive for the conduct of delimitation exercise and enable the government to take follow-up action, if necessary, by advising the president to rescind the deferment orders issued in respect of such states section 8a further empowers the election commission to undertake the delimitation exercise in the states where it was deferred, once the deferment order is rescinded by the president3 clause 6 of the bill provides for substitution of clauses (a) and (aa) of sub-section (1)of section 9 which empowers the election commission to make correction of any error of printing mistake in the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies order, 2008 or make such amendments which appear it to be necessary or expedient for consolidating with the delimitation orders and notifications4 the orders made under the bill is also required to be laid before each house of parliament the delegation of legislative powers is, therefore, of a normal character annexure extracts from the representation of the people act, 1950(43 of 1950)|                  |    |    |    |    |    |    ||------------------|----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|| 4               |    | (1) |    |    |    |    || filling of seats |    |     |     |     |     |     || in the house of  |    |     |     |     |     |     || the people and   |    |     |     |     |     |     || parliamentary    |    |     |     |     |     |     || constituencies  |    |     |     |     |     |     || 76 of 1972      |    |     |     |     |     |     || 20 of 1963      |    |     |     |     |     |     |(5) save as provided in sub-section (4), the extent of all parliamentary constituencies except the parliamentary constituencies in the union territory of arunachal pradesh shall be as determined by the orders of the delimitation commission made under the provisions of the delimitation act, 1972 and the extent of the  parliamentary constituencies in the union territory of  arunachal pradesh shall be as determined by the order of the election commission under the provisions of the government of union territories act 1963|                 |    |    |    |    |    |    |    ||-----------------|----|----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|| 7              | (  |  1 | )   |    |    |    |    || total number    |    |    |     |     |     |     |     || of seats in     |    |    |     |     |     |     |     || legislative     |    |    |     |     |     |     |     || assemblies      |    |    |     |     |     |     |     || and assembly    |    |    |     |     |     |     |     || constituencies |    |    |     |     |     |     |     | (1b) notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), in the legislative assemblies of the states of arunachal pradesh, meghalaya, mizoram and nagaland, to be constituted at any time after the commencement of representation of the people (third amendment) act, 1987 (40 of 1987),—(a) thirty-nine seats shall be reserved for the scheduled tribes in the legislative assembly of the state of arunachal pradesh;|            ||-------------|| 76 of 1972 || 8 of 1980  || 20 of 1963 |(3) the extent of each assemly constituency in all the states and union territories except the assembly constituencies in the state of sikkim and in the union territory of arunachal pradesh shall be as determined by the orders of the delimitation commission made under the provisions of the delimitation act, 1972 the extent of each assembly constituency in the state of sikkim shall be as provided for in the delimination of parliamentary and assembly constituencies order, 1976, as amended by section 4 of the representation of the people (amendment) act, 1980 and the extent of each assemly constituency in the union territory of arunachal pradesh shall be as determined by the order of the election commission made under the provisions of the government of union territories act, 1963|                ||-----------------|| consolidation   || of delimitation || orders         |8 (1) as soon as may be, after all the orders referred to in sub-section (5) of section 4or in sub-section (3) of section 7 relating to the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies have been made by the delimitation commission or, as the case may be, the election commission and published the official gazette, the election commission shall, after making such amendments as appear to it to be necessary for bringing up-to-date the description of the extent of the parliamentary and assembly constituencies as given in such orders, consolidate all such orders into one single order to be known as 1[the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies order, 1976] and shall send authentic copies of that order to the central government and to the government of each state having a legislative assembly; and thereupon that order shall supersede all the orders referred to in sub-section (5) of section 4 or in sub-section (3) of section 7 and shall have the force of law and shall not be called in question in any court 76 of 1972(3) the consolidation under sub-section (1) of the orders referred to in sub-section (5)of section 4, or as the case may be, sub-section (3) of section 7 shall not, as provided in subsection (5) of section 10 of the delimitation act, 1972, affect the representation in, and the territorial constituencies of, the house of the people or the legislative assembly of the state existing on the date of publication in the gazette of india of any such order or orders as may be relevant9 (1) the election commission may from time to time, by notification published in the gazette of india and in the official gazette of the state concerned,—| power                                                                                 | of       ||---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------|| e l e c t i o n                                                                       |          || commission                                                                            |          || to                                                                                    | maintain || delimitation                                                                          |          || order up-to-                                                                          |          || date                                                                                 |          || (                                                                                     | a        || constituencies order, 1966, or, as the case may be, the delimitation of parliamentary |          || and assembly constituencies order, 1976 or any error arising therein from inadvertent |          || slip or omission;                                                                     |          |(aa) make such amendments in the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies order, 1976 as appear to it to be necessary or expedient for consolidating with that order any notification or order relating to delimitation of parliamentary or assembly constituencies (including reservation of seats for the scheduled castes or the scheduled tribes in such constituencies) issued under any central act;    38 of 198776 of 19729a (1) as soon as may be after the coming into force of the representation of the people (second amendment) act, 1987, the election commission shall, having regard to the provisions of the constitution and the principle specified in clause (d) of sub-section (1) of section 9 of the delimitation act, 1972, determine the assembly constituencies in the states of meghalaya, mizoram and nagaland in which seats shall be reserved for the scheduled tribes| power           | of   ||-----------------|------|| e l e c t i o n |      || commission to   |      || determine the   |      || constituencies  |      || to be reserved  |      || for scheduled   |      || tribes          | in   || certain states |      |(2) the election commission shall,—(a) publish its proposals under sub-section (1) with respect to any state in the official gazette 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;(d) hold, for the purpose of such consideration, if it thinks fit so to do, one or more public sittings at such place or places in such state as it thinks fit;(e) after considering all objections and suggestions which may have been received by it before the date so specified, determine, by order, the assembly constituency or constituencies in the state in which seats shall be reserved for the scheduled tribes and cause such order to be published in the official gazette; and, upon such publication, the order shall have the full force of law and shall not be called in question in any court and the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies order, 1976, or, as the case may be, the mizoram (delimitation of assembly constituencies) order, 1986 shall be deemed to have been amended accordingly (3) every order made under sub-section (2) shall, as soon as may be after it is published under that sub-section, be laid before the legislative assembly of the state concernedexplanation—for the purposes of this section "assembly constituency"means,—(a) in relation to the states of meghalaya and nagaland, the assembly constituencies in those states as specified in the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies order, 1976; and(b) in relation to the state of mizoram, the assembly constituencies as specified in the mizoram (delimitation of assembly constituencies) order, 198638 of 1992 76 of 19729b (1) as soon as may be after the coming into force of the representation of the people (amendment) act, 1992, the election commission shall, having regard to the provisions of the constitution and the principle specified in clause (d) of sub-section (1) of section 9 of the delimitation act, 1972, determine the three assembly constituencies in the state of  tripura in which the three additional seats for scheduled tribes, as increased by sub-section (1c) of section 7, shall be reserved(2) the election commission shall,—power of e l e c t i o n commission to d e t e r m i n e c e r t a i n constituencies to be reserved for scheduled tribes in the state of tripura(a) publish its proposals under sub-section (1) in the official gazette 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;(d) hold, for the purpose of such consideration, if it thinks fit so to do, one or more public sittings at such place or places in the state as it thinks fit;(e) after considering all objections and suggestions which may have been received by it before the date so specified determine, by order, the three assembly constituencies in the state in which the said three additional seats shall be reserved for the scheduled tribes and cause such order to be published in the official gazette; and, upon such publication, the order shall have the full force of law and shall not be called in qustion in any court and the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies order, 1976, shall be deemed to have been amended accordingly (3) every order made under sub-section (2) shall, as soon as may be after it is published under that sub-section, be laid before the legislative assembly of the state of tripura the  first  schedule (see section 3) allocation of seats in the house of the peoplenumber of seats in the house as subsequently constitutedname of the state/ union territorynumber of seats in the house as constituted on 1-1-1973totalreservedreservedtotalreservedreservedfor thefor thefor thefor thescheduledscheduledscheduled scheduledcastestribescastestribes1234567i states:1andhra pradesh416242622arunachal pradesh1123assam141214124bihar53754075chhattisgarh1166goa27gujarat242326248haryana9210249himachal pradesh414110jharkhand611jammu & kashmir6612karnataka27428413kerala19220214madhya pradesh375829615maharashtra4533483416manipur212117meghalaya22218mizoram111119nagaland1120orissa2035213521punjab133133522rajasthan2343254323sikkim124tamil nadu39739725tripura212126uttarakhand527uttar pradesh8518801828west bengal40824282ii union territories:1andaman and nicobar islands112chandigarh113dadra and nagar haveli1114delhi717115daman and diu116lakshadweep11117puducherry11total52277415437941 the second schedule (see section 7 and 7a) total number of seats in the legislative assembliesname of the state/ union territorynumber of seats in the legislative assembly as constituted on 1-1-1973number of seats in the legislative assembly as subsequentlyconstitutedtotalreservedreservedtotalreservedreservedfor thefor thefor thefor thescheduledscheduledscheduled scheduledcastestribescastestribes1234567i states:1andhra pradesh287401129439152arunachal pradesh60593assam1148101268164bihar3184529243395chhattisgarh906goa304017gujarat168112218213268haryana811590179himachal pradesh681636816310jammu and kashmir75676611jharkhand22433212karnataka21629222433213kerala13311214013114madhya pradesh2963961230447515maharashtra2701516288182216manipur601196011917meghalaya60506055†18mizoram30403919nagaland52605920orissa1402234147223421punjab104231172922rajasthan1843121200332423sikkim3221224tamil nadu23442223442325tripura606196071726uttaranchal7027uttar pradesh4258940392128west bengal28055162945917———— a billfurther to amend the representation of the people act, 1950————(shri hans raj bhardwaj, minister of law and justice)mgipmrnd—688ls(s5)—03-03-2008