Delimitation of constituencies
Section 9 of the Delimitation Act, 2002 deals with delimitation of constituencies. The Commission shall, in the manner herein provided, then, distribute the seats in the House of the People allocated to each State and the seats assigned to the Legislative Assembly of each State as readjusted on the basis of 1971 census to single-member territorial constituencies and delimit them o The Act came into force on 03 Jun 2002.
(1) The Commission shall, in the manner herein provided, then, distribute the seats in the House of the People allocated to each State and the seats assigned to the Legislative Assembly of each State as readjusted on the basis of 1971 census to single-member territorial constituencies and delimit them on the basis of the census figures as ascertained, at the *[census held in the year 1[2001]], having regard to the provisions of the Constitution, the provisions of the Act specified in section 8 and the following provisions, namely:--
(a) all constituencies shall, as far as practicable, be geographically compact areas, and in delimiting them regard shall be had to physical features, existing boundaries of administrative units, facilities of communication and public convenience;
(b) every assembly constituency shall be so delimited as to fall wholly within one parliamentary constituency;
(c) constituencies in which seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes shall be distributed in different parts of the State and located, as far as practicable, in those areas where the proportion of their population to the total is comparatively large; and
(d) constituencies in which seats are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes shall, as far as practicable, be located in areas where the proportion of their population to the total is the largest.
(2) The Commission shall--
(a) publish its proposals for the delimitation of constituencies, together with the dissenting proposals, if any, of any associate member who desires publication thereof, in the Gazette of India and in the Official Gazettes of all the States concerned and also in such other manner as it thinks fit;
(b) specify a date on or after which the proposals shall be further considered by it;
(c) consider all objections and suggestions which may have been received by it before the date so specified, and for the purpose of such consideration, hold one or more public sittings at such place or places in each State as it thinks fit; and
(d) thereafter by one or more orders determine--
(i) the delimitation of parliamentary constituencies; and
(ii) the delimitation of assembly constituencies,
of each State.
Section 9, 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 7
- s. 10 Publication of orders and their date of operation
- s. 10A Deferment of delimitation in certain cases
- s. 11 Power to maintain delimitation orders up-to-date
- Government of Union Territories Act s. 43D Special provision for determination of constituencies in the Legislative Assembly of Goa, Daman and Diu for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
- Government of Union Territories Act s. 43C
- Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Act s. 4 Readjustment of seats by Commission
- Representation of the People Act s. 8A Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies in the States of Arunachal Pardesh, Assam, Manipur or Nagaland
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.9 Delimitation of constituencies — Commission may distribute and delimit seats under s.9(1)/(2)(d) for UT J&K once lawfully constituted; published delimitation order stands.
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Chakhesang Public Organisation& ORS. vs The Union of India& ORS.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
On a challenge to the delimitation exercise in the North-Eastern States founded on the alleged inaccuracy of the 2001 census figures on which Section 9 requires the Commission to work, the Division Bench held the petitions had been rendered infructuous by the executive's deferral of the exercise under Section 10A, so no direction touching the Commission's Section 9 exercise was called for.
On this section: It addresses an attack on the census base mandated by Section 9 for delimitation in Nagaland and Assam, and shows how the Section 10A deferral power displaces a Section 9 grievance.
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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… In State of U.P v. Pradhan Singh Kshettra Samiti [1995 (Supp.) (2) SCC 305] in paragraph (45), the bar under Article 243-O (a) was considered and it was held that "if we read Article 243-C, 243-K and 243-O in the place of Article 327 and Section 2(kk), 11-F and 12-BB of the Act in place of Sections 8 and 9 of the Delimitation Act, 1950, it will be obvious that neither the delimitation of the Panchayat area nor the constituencies in the said areas and allotment of seats to the constituencies could have been challenged nor the court could have entertained such challenge except on the ground that before the delimitation, …
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… Pradhan Singh Kshettra Samiti [1995 (Supp.) (2) SCC 305] wherein at paragraph (45), the bar under Article 243-O (a) was considered and it was held that "if we read Article 243-C, 243-K and 243-O in the place of Article 327 and Section 2 (kk), 11-F and 12-BB of the Act in place of Sections 8 and 9 of the Delimitation Act, 1950, it will be obvious that neither the delimitation of the Panchayat area nor the constituencies in the said areas and allotment of seats to the constituencies could have been challenged nor the court could have entertained such challenge except on the ground that before the delimitation, …
Questions about Section 9
What have the courts held on Section 9 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.9 Delimitation of constituencies — Commission may distribute and delimit seats under s.9(1)/(2)(d) for UT J&K once lawfully constituted; published delimitation order stands. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below, 1 of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2017 to 2023.
How do I find court cases under Section 9 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 9, section 9 Delimitation Act 2002, section 9 of the Delimitation Act. People searching for it also type 9 limitation act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 2 reported judgments on this section are 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 9 of the Delimitation Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 8 (Readjustment of number of seats), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 7 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it.
When did Section 9 of the Delimitation Act come into force?
Section 9 of the Delimitation Act, cited as Delimitation Act 2002 9, 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.