New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday asked the central government to consider reconstitution of the delimitation commission for proportional representation of Limbu and Tamang tribal communities in Sikkim and West Bengal.
Citing demand of Limbu and Tamang communities for the grant of proportional representation, a bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said it as a constitutional foundation, which can be found in Articles 330 and 332 of the Constitution.
The bench, also comprising justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said the communities which have been designated as STs since 2012 have had no political representation, which is nothing but “injustice.”
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing an NGO, had argued that there was a rise in the ST population in Sikkim and West Bengal. Bhushan stressed that not reserving seats for them proportionate to the growth amounted to denial of their constitutional rights. The NGO, in its plea, contended that the population of Limbu and Tamang communities in Sikkim was 20.60 per cent in 2001 and had risen to 33.8 per cent in 2011, and in the Darjeeling area of West Bengal, the ST population rose to 21.5 per cent in 2011 from 12.69 per cent in 2001.
Pointing that it is conscious that it cannot direct the Parliament to enact a law, the bench said it is of view that Centre must take a considered view if the delimitation commission should be reconstituted to ensure justice to those communities who have been designated as Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST).
The apex court declined to accept Centre’s contention that the delimitation commission cannot be constituted till the 2026 census is carried out. The bench observed that if it happens in 2031, then these communities will have to wait for another eight years to get a reservation. “You are two decades behind. You are denying a constitutional mandate,” the bench said.
After hearing detailed submissions by the petitioner’s counsel, the bench asked the Centre to discuss the issue with the chief election commissioner and respond to it by Thursday. The top court was hearing a plea by the Public Interest Committee for Scheduling Specific Areas, or PICSSA, an NGO, which argued that Limbu and Tamang communities, both belonging to the ST category, have been denied proportionate representation in West Bengal and Sikkim.
The plea sought direction from the Centre, the poll panel, and the two states to take steps for proportional representation of STs, as guaranteed under Articles 330 (reservation of seats for SCs and STs in the House of People) and 332 (reservation of seats for SCs and STs in legislative assemblies of states) of the Constitution, to prevent violation of Article 14 (equality before law).
