Today, On 25th July, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea seeking delimitation in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, stating, “Two states cannot be equated with Jammu & Kashmir,” where delimitation was done in 2022, resulting in an increase in assembly constituencies.
The Supreme Court dismissed a petition that sought directions for the Central government to conduct a delimitation exercise for the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
A Bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi stated that these two states cannot be equated with Jammu and Kashmir, where delimitation was carried out in 2022, resulting in an increase in assembly seats.
Also Read: Supreme Court Grants Centre Three Months for Delimitation in Northeast States
The Court stated,
“We have held that this will open floodgates for all states to approach seeking parity. We hold that constitutional mandate under 170(3) serves as a bar. Demand for the Delimitation is contrary to the same and thus fails. J&K having been reconstituted is not governed by chapter 3 of part VII of the Constitution. Thus we find no merit that exclusion of AP and Telangana from the impugned delimitation notification is arbitrary or violative of the constitution,”
Consequently, the Court rejected the petition submitted by K Purushottam Reddy.
Reddy approached the Court, arguing that while delimitation had been conducted for Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in an increase in the number of seats, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were excluded, which he deemed arbitrary.
He further asserted that this exclusion violated the doctrine of legitimate expectations.
Also Read: Supreme Court Reserves Judgment on Plea for Delimitation in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
However, the Court dismissed this argument.
The Bench stated,
“The doctrine of legitimate expectation is a well settled principle though it does not lead to any legal right and it cannot override any express provision of law and it needs to be reasonable and in consonance with the statute. Expectation under the Andhra Pradesh Act cannot be seen in isolation as it is subject to Article 170 of the Constitution,”
Earlier, The Supreme Court of India has reserved its judgment on a petition that asked the Central Government to conduct a delimitation exercise for increasing assembly seats in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Case Title: K. PURUSHOTTAM REDDY Versus UNION OF INDIA AND ORS., W.P.(C) No. 488/2022