Publication of orders and their date of operation
Section 10 of the Delimitation Act, 2002 deals with publication of orders and their date of operation. The Commission shall cause each of its orders made under section 8 or section 9 to be published in the Gazette of India and in the Official Gazettes of the States concerned and simultaneously cause such orders to be published at least in two vernacular newspapers and publicize on radio, television a The Act came into force on 03 Jun 2002.
(1) The Commission shall cause each of its orders made under section 8 or section 9 to be published in the Gazette of India and in the Official Gazettes of the States concerned and simultaneously cause such orders to be published at least in two vernacular newspapers and publicize on radio, television and other possible media available to the public and after such publication in the Official Gazettes of the States concerned, every District Election Officer shall cause to be affixed, the Gazette version of such orders relating to the area under his jurisdiction, on a conspicuous part of his office for public notice.
(2) Upon publication in the Gazette of India, every such order shall have the force of law and shall not be called in question in any court.
(3) As soon as may be after such publication, every such order shall be laid before the House of the People and the Legislative Assemblies of the States concerned.
(4) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (5), the readjustment of representation 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 or to the Assembly, 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 and delimitation contained in any other law for the time being in force or any order or notification issued under such law in so far as such representation and delimitation are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act:
1[Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall apply to the delimitation orders published in relation to the state of Jharkhand].
(5) Nothing in this section shall affect the representation in the House of the People or in the Legislative Assembly of a State until the dissolution of the House or of the Assembly, as the case may be, existing on the date of publication in the Gazette of India of the final order or orders of the Commission relating to the delimitation of parliamentary constituencies or, as the case may be, of the assembly constituencies of that State and any bye-election to fill any vacancy in such House or in any such Assembly shall be held on the basis of the provisions of the laws and orders superseded by sub-section (4) as if the said provisions had not been superseded.
(6) The Commission shall endeavour to complete and publish each of its orders referred to in sub-section (1) in the manner provided in that sub-section, 2[within a period not later than 31st day of July, 2008] under section 3.
Section 10, The Delimitation Act, 2002 (Act 33 of 2002).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
This section refers to
Referred to by 5
- s. 10B Delimitation Commission's order with respect to the State of Jharkhand not to have any legal effect
- Government of Union Territories Act s. 43F Special provision as to readjustment of territorial constituencies on the basis of 2001 census
- Government of Union Territories Act s. 43C
- Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act s. 62 Special provision as to readjustment of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies on the basis of 2011 census
- Representation of the People Act s. 8 Consolidation of delimitation orders
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Haji Abdul Gani Khan & Anr. v. Union of India & Ors.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
SC held that Delimitation Act s.10(6)'s outer date ("endeavour" to complete/publish by 31.07.2008) is directory, not mandatory: the word "endeavour" and the existence of s.10A (Presidential power to defer delimitation in a State) show the deadline was never intended to be sacrosanct or to exhaust the s.3 constitution power. Consequently a post-2008 Commission notification and subsequent publication of delimitation orders under s.10 remain competent. DATE CHECK: Judgement body New Delhi; February 13, 2023 matches index.
On this section: s.10 Publication of orders and their date of operation — sub-s.(6) endeavour deadline is directory; publication/force-of-law scheme under s.10 is not defeated by expiry of 31.07.2008.
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… The judgment of a Division Bench of this Court in Chief Electoral Officer v. Sunny Joseph and others [2005 KHC 1349 = 2005 (4) KLT 599] was pressed into service by the learned counsel for the State Election Commission in the realm of Section 10 of the Delimitation Act and the interference of a writ court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, wherein taking into account the basic structure theory enunciated in His Holiness Kesavananda Bharati Sripadagalvaru v. State of Kerala and another [(1973) 4 SCC 225] and the judgments on the point of …
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… The judgment of a Division Bench of this Court in Chief Electoral Officer v. Sunny Joseph and others [2005 KHC 1349 = 2005 (4) KLT 599] was pressed into service by the learned counsel for the State Election Commission in the realm of Section 10 of the Delimitation Act and the interference of a writ court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, wherein taking into account the basic structure theory enunciated in His Holiness Kesavananda Bharati Sripadagalvaru v. State of Kerala and another [(1973) 4 SCC 225] and the judgments on the point of …
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… The judgment of a Division Bench of this Court in Chief Electoral Officer v. Sunny Joseph and others [2005 KHC 1349 = 2005 (4) KLT 599] was pressed into service by the learned counsel for the State Election Commission in the realm of Section 10 of the Delimitation Act and the interference of a writ court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, wherein taking into account the basic structure theory enunciated in His Holiness Kesavananda Bharati Sripadagalvaru v. State of Kerala and another [(1973) 4 SCC 225] and the judgments on the point of …
Questions about Section 10
What have the courts held on Section 10 of the Delimitation Act?
Haji Abdul Gani Khan & Anr. v. Union of India & Ors. (13 Feb 2023) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: s.10 Publication of orders and their date of operation — sub-s.(6) endeavour deadline is directory; publication/force-of-law scheme under s.10 is not defeated by expiry of 31.07.2008.
How do I find court cases under Section 10 of the Delimitation Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Delimitation Act 2002 10, section 10 Delimitation Act 2002, section 10 of the Delimitation Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Haji Abdul Gani Khan & Anr. v. Union of India & Ors. (13 Feb 2023).
What should I read with Section 10 of the Delimitation Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 3 (Constitution of Delimitation Commission), section 8 (Readjustment of number of seats), section 9 (Delimitation of constituencies), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 5 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it.
When did Section 10 of the Delimitation Act come into force?
Section 10 of the Delimitation Act, cited as Delimitation Act 2002 10, came into force on 03 Jun 2002, having been enacted on 03 Jun 2002. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.