Constitutional law – Limitations on judicial scrutiny on electoral matters under Article 329 of the Constitution of India and scope of judicial review under Article 226 of the Constitution of India over exercise of power under the Delimitation Act: Held: Although Article 329 of the Constitution of India undeniably restricts the scope of judicial scrutiny regarding the validity of any law relating to delimitation of constituencies or allotment of seats to such constituencies, it cannot be construed to have been imposed for every action of delimitation exercise – If judicial intervention is deemed completely barred, citizens would not have any forum to plead their grievances, leaving them solely at the mercy of the Delimitation Commission – As a constitutional court and guardian of public interest, permitting such a scenario would be contrary to the Court’s duties and principle of separation of powers – Reliance placed on the Judgment of this Hon’ble Court in Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (Dmk) v. Secretary Governors Secretariat and Ors. [2019] 14 SCR 704 : (2020) 6 SCC 548 : 2019 INSC 1326 and State of Goa v. Fouziya Imtiaz Shaikh [2021] 2 SCR 770 : (2021) 8 SCC 401 : 2021 INSC 179, where this Hon’ble Court held that a Constitutional Court can intervene for facilitation of elections, or where a case of malafide or arbitrary exercise of power is made out. [Paras 5 and 6]
Constitutional Law – Nothing precludes a Constitutional Court from deciding validity of orders passed by Delimitation Commission:
Held: While Courts shall always be guided by settled principles of scope, ambit and limitation on the exercise of judicial review in delimitation matters, there is nothing that precludes them to check the validity of orders passed by Delimitation Commission on the touchstone of the Constitution – If the Order is found to be manifestly arbitrary and irreconcilable to the constitutional values, the Court can grant the appropriate remedy to rectify the situation – A Constitutional Court can undertake the exercise of judicial review within the limited sphere at an appropriate stage. [Paras 8 and 9]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Prastut Mahesh Dalvi, Hony. Associate Editor (Verified by: Abhinav Mukerji, Sr. Adv.). Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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