Delimitation

History:
- 42nd CAA 1976: froze till 2000 at 1971 level
- 84th CAA 2001: froze till 2026 and allowed readjustment based on 1991 census
- 87th CAA 2003: delimitation based on 2001 census w/o altering seat allocation
high powered body: Delimitation Commission
- constituted: 1952, 1963, 1973, 2002
Art 82/170: delimitation of parl/assembly constituency
- in such authority and manner as the parliament may, by law, determine
Art 330/332: refixing seats for SC/ST in LS & SLA

Can Delimitation be challenged?

no modification permissible by House of People & SLA
comes into effect on a date specified by the president of india
however: SC: constitutional courts have power to review orders of delimitation commission if an order is arbitrary & irreconciliable constitutional values (Kishor Chandra Chhanganlal Rathod vs UoI 2024)
- Meghraj Kothari vs Delimitation Commission & others 1996: Judicial interference restricted only to avoid unnecessary delay in election process; not an absolute bar on constitutional courts powers to review orders of delimitation commission

constitutional mandate for fair representation of demographic realities
political equality - one person one vote
preventing gerrymandering
federalism
historial adjustment for balanced representation relative to population distribution

federal imbalance: if based only on population, benefits high growth states and punishes states that have controlled population
reserved constituencies do not accurately reflect demographic realities of SC/ST communities
lack of public participation in delimitation
delays in conducting census and thus, delimitation

Section 17A of POCA

mandates there should be prior sanction from govt to launch investigation against public service

Corruption: acceptance or solicitation of gratification by public servant for peforming or not performing an official act

centralized control (state control, licence raj, bureaucratic regulation)
- eg. Bofors scandal
political bureaucratic nexus: foster patronage, nepotism, protection of corrupt networks eg. Adarsh Housing Scam 2010
Socio economic disparities: poverty & economic distress increase vulnerability to bribery and exploitation
Sanskritization of Corruption (Prof. Kaushik Basu, former chief economic Advisor to GoI)
- corrupt behaviour displayed to gain respect & social prestige and normalized as a way for upward mobility
lack of independent investigative agency eg. CBI function under executive control
overburdened judicial system - delays in prosecution
lack of transparency in administration & weak whistleblower protection, poor public oversight

Fugitive Economic Offenders Act 2018: benami txn, corpo fraud, evasion of income tax, PMLA
Whistle Blower Protection Act 2014
Lokpal & Lokayukta Act 2013: includes PM
UNCAC: ratified by india in 2011
RTI 2005