Representation Of The People Act, 1950

Representation of The People Act, 1950
- Registration of Electors Rules, 1960
- Representation of The People Act, 1950

The Representation Of The People Act, 1950

(43 of 1950)

Last Updated 4th January, 2022 [21/948]

[12th May, 1950]

An Act to provide for the allocation of seats in, and the delimitation of constituencies for the purpose of elections to, the House of the People and the Legislatures of States, the qualifications of voters at such elections, the preparation of electoral rolls, the manner of filling seats in the Council of States to be filled by representatives of Union territories, and matters connected therewith.

Be it enacted by Parliament as follows:-

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY ▼

Representation of the People Act, 1950 (73 of 1950)

Government of Part C States Act, 1951 (49 of 1951)

Representation of the People (Second Amendment) Act, 1951 (67 of 1951)

Himachal Pradesh and Bilaspur (New State) Act, 1954 (32 of 1954)

Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1956 (2 of 1956)

Representation of the People (Third Amendment) Act, 1956 (60 of 1956)

Territorial Councils Act, 1956 (103 of 1956)

Adaptation of Law (No. 2) Order, 1956

Legislative Councils Act, 1957 (37 of 1957)

Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1958 (58 of 1958)

Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960 (11 of 1960)

Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1960 (20 of 1960)

Repealing and Amending Act, 1960 (58 of 1960)

Dadra and Nagar Haveli Act, 1961 (35 of 1961)

Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1961 (40 of 1961)

Goa, Daman and Diu (Administration) Act, 1962 (1 of 1962)

State of Nagaland Act, 1962 (27 of 1962)

Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1963 (2 of 1963)

Government of Union Territories Act, 1963 (20 of 1963)

Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1964 (33 of 1964)

Union Territories (Direct Election to the House of the People) Act, 1965 (49 of 1965)

Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1966 (47 of 1966)

Legislative Assembly of the Nagaland (Change in Representation) Act, 1968 (61 of 1968)

West Bengal Legislative Council (Abolition) Act, 1969 (20 of 1969)

Punjab Legislation Council (Abolition) Act, 1969 (46 of 1969)

Mysore State (Alteration of Names) (Adaptation of Laws on Union Subjects) Order, 1974

North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) (Adaptation of Laws on Union Subject) Order, 1974

Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Act, 1975 (29 of 1975)

Election Laws (Extension to Sikkim) Act, 1976 (10 of 1976)

Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1976 (88 of 1976)

Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1980 (8 of 1980)

Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council (Abolition) Act, 1985 (34 of 1986)

State of Mizoram Act, 1986 (34 of 1986)

Tamil Nadu Legislative Council (Abolition) Act, 1986 (40 of 1986)

State of Arunachal Pradesh Act, 1986 (69 of 1986)

Goa, Daman and Diu (Reorganisation) Act, 1987 (18 of 1987)

Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1987 (31 of 1987)

Representation of the People (Second Amendment) Act, 1987 (38 of 1987)

Representation of the People (Third Amendment) Act, 1987 (40 of 1987)

Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1988 (1 of 1989)

Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1989 (21 of 1989)

Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1992 (38 of 1992)

Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000 (28 of 2000)

Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000 (29 of 2000)

Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000 (30 of 2000)

Representation of the People (Second Amendment) Act, 2002 (6 of 2003)

Representation of the People (Second Amendment) Act, 2003 (2 of 2004)

Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council Act, 2005 (1 of 2006)

Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2008 (10 of 2008)

Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2009 (41 of 2009)

Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2010 (36 of 2010)

Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2016 (10 of 2016)

Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021 (49 of 2021)

PART I

Preliminary

1. Short title. - This Act may be called The Representation of the People Act, 1950.

Object & Reasons▼

Statement of Objects and Reasons. - Articles 81 and 170 lay down the maximum number of seats in Parliament and in Legislative Assemblies of States, and also certain principles to be followed in allocating seats in the House of the People among the States and in the State Legislative Assemblies, but have left the actual allocation of such seats to be provided by law. Article 171 of the Constitution lays down the maximum and minimum number of seats in the Legislative Council of a State, and also specifies the various methods in which the seats shall be filled, but the actual number of seats to be filled by each such method has been left to be provided by law. The Bill seeks to provide for the allocation of seats in the House of the People and in the Legislative Assemblies and Legislative Councils of States.

In allotting seats in the House of the People to the different States and in fixing the total number of seats in the Legislative Assemblies of different States, the present population of each State as on 1st March, 1950, estimated in consultation with the Census Commissioner for India, has been taken into account.

The Bill also seeks to confer on the President the powers to delimit, after consultation with the Election Commission, the various constituencies for the purpose of elections to fill seats in the House of the People and in the Legislative Assemblies and Legislative Councils of States. It further provides for the registration of electors for Parliamentary constituencies and for the Assembly and Council constituencies, and the qualifications and disqualifications for such registration. A special provision has been included for relaxation of the residence qualification in the case of displaced persons who migrated before the 25th day of July, 1949, to India from the territory of Pakistan. Provisions have been made for the preparation of electoral rolls, the period of currency of such rolls, and the revision and correction of such rolls during such period in special cases.

Certain action was already taken by the Constituent Assembly Secretariat for the preparation of the electoral rolls for elections to the House of the People and the Legislative Assemblies of the States. A provision has accordingly been included in the Bill for the validation of such acts.

Amendment Act 73 of 1950 - Statement of Objects and Reasons. - Clause (5) of article 80 of the Constitution provides that the representatives of the States specified in Part C of the First Schedule in the Council of States shall be chosen in such manner as Parliament may by law prescribe. According to the Table of States contained in the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution [as amended by the Constitution (Amendment of the First and Fourth Schedules) Order, 1950 issued under article 391], there have to be ten representatives of Part C States in the Council of States of which four have been allotted to Vindhya Pradesh, one each to Bhopal, Delhi and Kutch, one to Ajmer and Coorg, one to Himachal Pradesh and Bilaspur, and one to Manipur and Tripura. The Bill seeks to amend the Representation of the People Act, 1950 to introduce therein provisions as to the method to be adopted for the choosing of representatives of such States in the Council of States. It is proposed that the seat allotted to the States of Manipur and Tripura should be filled by a person nominated by the President every second year to represent the State of Manipur and the State of Tripura in rotation. The seats allotted to other Part C States are proposed to be filled by election in territorial constituencies by special electorates constituted for the purpose consisting of elected members of local authorities and persons who have passed the matriculation examination or other equivalent examination. A combined electorate for the States of Ajmer and Coorg which have been allotted only one seat between them will not be satisfactory. A special provision has accordingly been included for filling this seat by rotation by holding election every two years in the State of Ajmer and in the State of Coorg.

The Bill also seeks to enact the provisions of the Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance, 1950 which was promulgated on the 17th day of October, 1950. This provides for the preparation of the first electoral rolls in relation to such electoral units in each State as the Elections Commission may in consultation with the Government of that State direct, and also for the preliminary publication of the electoral rolls by reference to such electoral units instead of constituencies which have not yet been delimited. It also provides that after each constituency in a State has been determined and the claims and objections in respect of the electoral rolls for all the electoral units or parts of such units as comprised in such constituency have been disposed of, the rolls shall be published as, the electoral roll for such constituency. These provisions which are designed to expedite the final preparation of electoral rolls and under which action has already been taken in a number of States require to be confirmed by Parliament.

Amendment Act 67 of 1951 - Statement of Objects and Reasons. - Under the Constitution the tribal areas specified in Part B of the Table appended to paragraph 20 of the Sixth Schedule thereto are comprised within the State of Assam but their administration is carried on by the President through the Governor of Assam as an agent on the same footing as a territory specified in Part D of the First Schedule. These areas have accordingly been taken out of the purview of clause (1) of article 81 and article 170 of the Constitution so far as Assam is concerned by the Constitution (Removal of Difficulties) Order No. VIII made by the President under article 392 of the Constitution. Clause (2) of article 81 and article 82 of the Constitution were also amended by the said Order so as to confer power on Parliament to provide for the representation of those areas in the House of the People. No provision has, however, been made in the Representation of the People Act, 1950 for the representation of these areas in the House of the People. Clauses 2 to 5 of the Bill seek to make provisions for the representation of the said areas in the House of the People. Clause 8 of the Bill seeks to make a consequential amendment in section 4 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (XLIII of 1951).

2. Clauses 6 and 7 of the Bill seek to correct certain minor mistakes in the list of Scheduled Castes in Himachal Pradesh and in the list of Scheduled Tribes in Vindhya Pradesh contained respectively in the Sixth and Seventh Schedules to the Representation of the People Act, 1950.

Amendment Act 60 of 1956 - Statement of Objects and Reasons. - It is proposed to amend the Representation of the People Act, 1950, in order that the displaced persons who migrated from Pakistan can exercise their right of franchise in the next general elections in accordance with the assurance given in Parliament when the citizenship Bill was under discussion. Under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, a person's name cannot be included in the electoral roll of a constituency unless he is a citizen of India and was ordinarily resident in that constituency, on the 1st March, 1956. The first step required to be taken, therefore, is to register the displaced persons as citizens of India. The Citizenship Rules have come into force on the 7th July, 1956, and arrangements have been made for the registration of persons as citizens of India under section 5(1)(a) of the Citizenship Act, 1955. Considering the number of such persons in the various States (and particularly in the West Bengal where it runs into lakhs), the work of registration is not likely to be completed before the end of October, 1956. By that time, the electoral rolls for the year 1956 now under preparation are expected to be ready for final publication in most places. It will not, therefore, be possible, without some special provision, for the election machinery to include in the electoral roll the names of displaced persons who would be registered as citizens of India under section 5(1)(a) of the said Act.

2. In these circumstances, the best course appears to be to amend the Representation of the People Act, 1950, making a special and temporary provision to achieve the object in view. It is proposed that every authority registering as citizens under section 5(1)(a) of the Citizenship Act, persons ordinarily resident in a constituency should by the 31st December, 1956, send to the electoral registration officer for the constituency a list of all persons so registered who, on the 1st March, 1956, were not less than 21 years of age. On receiving the list, the electoral registration officer shall, after making due inquiries, direct the inclusion in the electoral roll of the names of all persons included in the list who, in this opinion, are entitled to be registered in the electoral roll for the constituency. This special procedure will be available only to those displaced persons who are registered as citizens under section 5(1)(a) of the Citizenship Act before 1st November, 1956, and who were ordinarily resident in India in some constituency or other on 1st March, 1956.

Amendment Act 72 of 1956 - Statement of Objects and Reasons. - The Representation of the People (Third Amendment) Act, 1956, was enacted to effect the prompt enrolment as electors of those displaced persons who register themselves as citizens of India under section 5(1)(a) of the Citizenship Act, 1955, before the 1st November, 1956. It was then thought that the bulk of eligible displaced persons would have been registered as citizens of India before the 1st November, 1956, but as this expectation was not fulfilled, it was suggested by the Election Commission that an Ordinance should be promulgated extending the said date to the 1st December, 1956, in order to enable a larger number of these recently registered citizens being brought on the electoral rolls. Accordingly, the Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance, 1956 was promulgated. The proposed Bill seeks to replace the said Ordinance.

Amendment Act 2 of 1963- Statement of Objects and Reasons. - The local authorities specified in the Fourth Schedule to the Representation of the People Act, 1950, in pursuance of article 171(3) of the Constitution read with section 27(2) of the abovementioned Act form the basis of the electorate of local authorities' constituencies of the State Legislative Councils. Unless the lists of these local authorities are kept up-to-date, there are difficulties in the holding of bye-elections from the local authorities' constituencies. Recently there have been changes in the lists of local authorities for Maharashtra, Madras and Uttar Pradesh with inauguration of Panchayat Raj in Maharashtra, District Boards, District Local Boards, and Janapada Sabhas (Rural Circle) have been replaced by Zila Parishads. In Madras "Class I Panchayats" have been reclassified as "Town Panchayats" and in Uttar Pradesh "Kshetra Samitis" have been introduced by the U.P. Kshetra Samitis and Zila Parishads Act, 1961. The State Governments concerned want these new local bodies to be mentioned in their respective lists of local authorities in the Fourth Schedule. Any change in the lists of these local authorities can only be effected by Parliament by law. Accordingly, the Bill seeks to make the necessary changes in the lists of local authorities in the Fourth Schedule to give effect to the above proposals for the State Governments.

Amendment Act 33 of 1964 - Statement of Objects and Reasons. - A member of the Armed Forces of the Unions is by virtue of section 20(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, deemed to be ordinarily resident in his home constituency and, therefore, is eligible for registration as a voter in the electoral roll for such constituency, although on account of exigencies of service he may be away from, and not ordinarily resident in, the home constituency at the time of preparation or revision of the electoral roll. As a corollary to this, a member of the Armed Forces of the Union is, by virtue of section 60 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, entitled to give his vote by postal ballot.

2. Such facilities are not, however, available to the members of the Armed Police Forces of a State, when they are employed on duty outside the State. This is anomalous. It is proposed to remove this anomaly by bringing such members of the Armed Police Forces of a State on a par with the members of the Armed Forces of the Union.

3. The Bill seeks to achieve this object by amending section 20 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and section 60 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

Amendment Act 14 of 1965 - Statement of Objects and Reasons. - The local authorities specified in the Fourth Schedule to the Representation of the People Act, 1950, in pursuance of article 171(3) of the Constitution read with section 27(2) of the abovementioned Act form the basis of the electorate of local authorities' constituencies of the State Legislative Councils. Unless the lists of these local authorities are kept up-to-date, there are difficulties in the holding of bye-elections from the local authorities' constituencies. With the inauguration in the States of Panchayat Raj, the list of local authorities appearing in the Fourth Schedule to the Representation of the People Act, 1950 requires modification. The States of Andhra Pradesh, Mysore and West Bengal have suggested the following changes in the list of local authorities:-

1. Andhra Pradesh. - Entry No. 4 "City and Town Committees" maybe deleted.

2. Mysore. - "Town Panchayats" may be added to the existing entries.

3, West Bengal. - "District Boards" and "Local Boards" may be substituted by "Zilla Parishads" and "Anchalik Parishads". Also "Town Committees" may be added to the list.

Any change in the lists of these local authorities can only be effected by Parliament by law. Accordingly, the Bill seeks to make the necessary changes in the lists of local authorities in the Fourth Schedule to give effect to the above proposals of the State Governments.

Amendment Act 47 of 1966 - Statement of Objects and Reasons. - The Election Commission have made a number of recommendations for the amendment of the election law and procedure in its Report on the Third General Elections in India in 1962 and subsequently. After careful examination, the Government have decided to accept those recommendations excepting those relating to election expenditure, increase in security deposit, multiplicity of candidates and deposit in connection with Presidential election.

The important recommendations which have been accepted by the Government relate to the following matters: -

(i) consolidation of the provisions relating to seats and delimitation orders;

(ii) creation of a new officer to be known as the district election officer in the electoral machinery of the country who would be an officer of the Government designated or nominated by the Election Commission in consultation with the State Government and would occupy a position in the electoral hierarchy between the Chief electoral officer of the State and the returning officer for the constituency and be in-charge of the preparation and revision of electoral rolls and the conduct of elections;

(iii) revision of electoral rolls according to the direction of the Election Commission and not otherwise;

(iv) consolidation of the provisions relating to disqualifications for membership and voting;

(v) lessening the rigour of the disqualification resulting from the failure to lodge accounts of election expenses;

(vi) conferment of power upon Election Commission to delegate its functions to senior officers of the Commission;

(vii) reduction in the time-table for the General Elections by seven days by making suitable changes in the relevant provisions of the 1951 Act;

(viii) provision for fresh poll in the case of destruction, loss, etc., of ballot papers a t the time of counting;

(ix) power of Election Commission in suitable cases in withhold the declaration of results of election;

(x) abolition of Election Tribunals and trial of election petitions by High Court;

(xi) making free conveyance of voters a corrupt practice and enhancement of the punishment for the offence;

(xii) obtaining the assistance of Government employee as a polling or counting agent by a candidate not to be a corrupt practice but penalty for a Government employee acting as an election agent or a polling agent or a counting agent of a candidate to be imposed;

(xiii) certain offences by election officers to be cognizable.

Amendment Act 88 of 1976-Statement of Objects and Reasons. - The Delimitation Commission appointed under the Delimitation Act, 1972, has completed the work of final determination of the number and the extent of Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies in respect of all States and Union Territories except the Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh. Under the provisions of the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Act, 1975, the Election Commission has issued its order determining the extent of the Parliamentary constituencies and Assembly constituencies in respect of that Union Territory.

Sections 8 and 9 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (43 of 1950) empower the Election Commission to consolidate all Orders of delimitation into a single Order and to maintain the said Order up-to-date. Those sections and section 4, section 7 and the First Schedule and the Second Schedule to that Act require amendment so as to bring the position in regard to the number of seats and the reference of Orders of Delimitation up-to-date and to enable the Election Commission to issue a new consolidated order.

Amendment Act 8 of 1980 - Statement of Objects and Reasons. - The Assembly for Sikkim formed as a result of the elections held in Sikkim in April, 1974 comprised of 32 members. All the seats in this Assembly were reserved-15 each for Sikkimese of Bhutia-Lepcha origin and Sikkimese of Nepali origin and one each for Scheduled Castes and for Sanghas belonging to Monasteries. The Constitution (Thirty-fifth Amendment) Act, 1975 by which Sikkim became a State of India, inserted in the Constitution of a special Article - article 371-F-with respect to Sikkim for deeming this Assembly to be the first Legislative Assembly of the State of Sikkim under the Constitution, and for making other special provisions with respect to the State. Clause (f) of the said article 371-F enabled Parliament to make, for the purpose of protecting the rights and interests of different sections of the population of Sikkim, provision for the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of the State which may be filled by candidates belonging to such sections and for the delimitation of the assembly constituencies from which candidates belonging to such sections alone may stand for election to the Legislative Assembly of the State.

2. With a view to facilitating the holding of a General Election for the purpose of constituting a new Legislative Assembly for the State of Sikkim on the expiration of the duration of the first Legislative Assembly of the State under the Constitution, a Bill entitled "The Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 1979" was introduced in the Sixth Lok Sabha on the 18th May, 1979. The Bill sought to make provision for the readjustment of the Assembly constituencies in the State of Sikkim and for the reservation of seats in the Legislative Assembly. The following passage from the Statement of Objects and Reasons appended to this Bill explains the basis on which reservations were provided for in the Bill:-

"Under the existing arrangements, the seats in the Assembly (the Assembly formed in 1974) are reserved for the Nepalese, Bhutias and Lepchas, the Scheduled Castes and the Sanghas belonging to the Monasteries. As a result, other residents of Sikkim are not eligible to contest elections to the Assembly. In the circumstances, it has become necessary to modify the existing set up........so as to ensure a fair representation to all sections of the population of the State in the Assembly. At the same time it is considered that if the Bhutias and Lepchas who are the original inhabitants of Sikkim, are given representation solely according to their population ratio, their interests may not be properly safeguarded. Accordingly, it has been decided that 12 seats .......may be reserved for Bhutias and Lepchas. In addition the reservation of one seat for the Sanghas may be allowed to continue. The Scheduled Castes population in Sikkim is mostly of Nepalese origin. Based on the population the Scheduled Castes in Sikkim qualify for two seats in the Legislative Assembly.......on the basis of the reservation proposed, the remaining 17 seats in the Legislative Assembly will be general seats open to all electors."

The Bill lapsed on the dissolution of the Sixth Lok Sabha.

3. The first Legislative Assembly of Sikkim was dissolved by the Governor of Sikkim on 13th~Aygust, 1979. It, therefore, became urgently necessary to make provision for the delimitation of the assembly constituencies in the State and for the reservation of seats in the Assembly for different sections of the people. Accordingly, an Ordinance on the lines of the Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 1979 which lapsed on the dissolution of the Sixth Lok Sabha was promulgated by the President on the 1st September, 1979. On the basis of the provisions of this Ordinance, a General Election for the purpose of constituting a new Legislative Assembly for the State of Sikkim has been held and the new Legislative Assembly has already been duly constituted. It is, therefore, necessary to replace the Ordinance by an Act of Parliament. Hence this Bill.

Amendment Act 31 of 1987 - Statements of Objects and Reasons. - In pursuance of article 171 of the Constitution read with section 10 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (43 of 1950), the number of seats allocated to the Legislative Councils of States having such Councils and the number of seats to be filled by persons elected by the electorates referred to in clause (3) of article 171 of the Constitution are specified in the Third Schedule to the said Act. Under section 27(2) of the 1950 Act, the Fourth Schedule to that Act specifies the local authorities for purposes of elections to the Legislative Councils.

2. The State Government of Karnataka has informed that the Legislative Assembly of the State has unanimously passed a resolution recommending that the total number of members of the Karnataka Legislative Council be increased to 75. It has also been informed by that State Government that with the coming into force of the Karnataka Zilla Parishads, Taluk Panchayat Samithis, Mandal Panchayats and Nyaya Panchayats Act, 1983 with effect from the 14th August, 1985, the references to "Taluk Development Boards" and "Town Panchayats" in the Fourth Schedule to the Act relating to Karnataka should be changed to "Mandal Panchayats" and "Zilla Parishads", respectively.

3. It is proposed to accept the recommendation of the State Government of Karnataka. The Bill, accordingly, seeks to make the necessary changes in the number of seats allocated to the Legislative Council of the State of Karnataka in the Third Schedule to the 1950 Act and in the list of local authorities in the Fourth Schedule to that Act.

Amendment Act 38 of 1987 - Statement of Objects and Reasons. - The Bill is a sequel to the amendments proposed to be made in article 332 of the Constitution by the Constitution (Fifty-eighth Amendment) Bill, 1987, for the purpose of providing for reservation of seats for the Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assemblies of the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland.

2. The new section 9-A proposed to be introduced in the Representation of the People Act, 1950 by clause 2 of the Bill empowers the Election Commission to determine, having regard to the provisions of the Constitution and section 9(1)(d) of the Delimitation Act, 1972, the Assembly constituencies in the States of Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland which shall be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes. Such determination with regard to the Assembly constituencies in the State of Arunachal Pradesh will be done by the Election Commission under the powers given to it by section 14 of the State of Arunachal Pradesh Act, 1986.

Amendment Act 40 of 1987 - Statements of Objects and Reasons. - The Constitution (Fifty-seventh Amendment) Act, 1987 inserted a new clause (3-A) in article 332 of the Constitution to provide for a formula different from that provided in clause (3) of that article for the reservation of Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assembly of the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland. This clause provides for the determination of the number of seats to be so reserved with reference to the actual number of the seats held by the Scheduled Tribes in the existing Legislative Assemblies of those States on the date of commencement of the Constitution Amendment Act. If all the seats of the existing Legislative Assembly are held by the Scheduled Tribes on such commencement, one seat shall be kept open. Simultaneously, the Representation of the People (Second Amendment) Act, 1987 was also passed by Parliament giving power to the Election Commission to determine the seats to be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in the State Legislative Assemblies on the basis of the above Constitution Amendment.

2. The determination of the number of seats to be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in the aforesaid Legislative Assemblies would have been a simple matter, if the same had been left to be determined with reference to the factual position on a past date. But it had been consciously and deliberately left to be determined with reference to a future date. This device of determining reserved seats with reference to the factual position on a future date had to take care of the possibility of changes occurring in the position of the various Legislatures by reason of vacancies on account of death, resignation, disqualification or otherwise. Such a situation has in fact arisen in the case of Nagaland Legislative Assembly. To overcome this difficulty, it was decided to further amend the Representation of the People Act, 1950 to specifically indicate therein the number of seats that would be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assemblies of all these States. This proposal had also been agreed to by the Election Commission which is of the opinion that although the provisions of the Representation of the People (Second Amendment) Act, 1987 empowering the Election Commission to determine the Assembly constituencies would enable it to specify the number of seats also, it may not be possible for it to use its discretion to make any increase in the number of seats in view of the present vacancies in the membership of the Nagaland State Legislative Assembly and the wording of the new clause (3-A) of article 332 inserted by the Constitution Amendment.

3. The term of the present Legislative Assembly of the State of Nagaland is coming to an end on the 28th November, 1987 and the Election Commission had to call for elections to that Assembly by the 1st of October. Before the notification calling for the elections is issued, the Election Commission should have finished its work of determination of the seats to be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in that Assembly. This would involve some procedure and it would take about 10 to 15 days before the orders of such determination are published by it. It was, therefore, necessary to amend the Representation of the People Act, 1950 immediately to achieve the object mentioned above. Accordingly, the President promulgated the Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance, 1987 on the 22nd September, 1987 to amend the Representation of the People Act, 1950 to specify that 59 of the 60 seats in the Nagaland Legislative Assembly, 55 of the 60 seats in Meghalaya Legislative Assembly, 39 of the 40 seats in Mizoram Legislative Assembly and 39 of the 40 seats in the Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly would be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in the general elections to those Assemblies which may be held in future.

Amendment Act I of 1989 - Statement of Objects and Reasons. - The Election Law, so far as elections to the Parliament and State Legislatures are concerned, is contained in the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The former deals with the matters pertaining to elections prior to the stage of actual elections and the latter deals with the actual conduct of elections and all matters connected herewith. These two Acts have been amended periodically in order to bring about improvements in the election system in the light of the experience gained in the working of these Acts.

2. Our election system has stood the test of time. Several rounds of elections and bye-elections have been held by the Election Commission and the poll has, on the whole, been free and fair. The people of India have also shown considerable maturity in exercising their right of franchise.

3. The question of introducing electoral reforms and making suitable changes in the election law to prevent the occurrence of corrupt practices, which vitiate the conduct of free and fair elections, have been under consideration for some time now. The experience gained over the years, also emphasises the need for further strengthening the measures for ensuring free and fair elections. The Election Commission has also forwarded several proposals for electoral reforms.

4. The various proposals for electoral reforms were widely debated. Government were keen to bring about necessary electoral reforms, consultations were held with the political parties in order to ascertain their specific views in the matter. Keeping in view the various suggestions, it has been decided to bring about amendments in the existing Election Laws.

5. The proposals contained in the present Bill are briefly explained below:-

(i) At present, all the work relating to the preparation, revision and correction of the electoral rolls and the actual conduct of elections, is carried out by the designated officers of the State Governments concerned. It is felt that the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Representation of the People Act, 1951, in this regard should be clearly defined so that during the relevant period, these officers would, while discharging functions relating to elections, be under the control, superintendence and discipline of the Election Commission.

(ii) At present there is no statutory definitions of political party in the Election Law. The recognition of a political party and the allotment of symbols for each party are presently regulated under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. It is felt that the Election Law should define political party and lay down the procedure for its registration. It is also felt that the political parties should be required to include a specific provision in the memorandum or rules or regulations governing their functioning that they would fully be committed to and abide by the principles enshrined in the preamble to the Constitution.

(iii) Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, deals with disqualification on the ground of conviction for certain offences. It is proposed to include more offences in this section so as to prevent persons having criminal record to enter into public life.

(iv) For the purpose of preventing frivolous candidates in respect of election to the Council of States and the Legislative Council of States, it is proposed to increase the number of proposers to ten per cent of the total electorate or ten proposers, whichever is less.

(v) Technology has made very rapid strides thereby favourably affecting several fields of human activity and leading to betterment all round. It is felt that appropriate modern electronic processes should be deployed, side by side with the existing conventional systems in the voting process. Since the Representation of the People Act, 1951 specifically makes mention only of the ballot paper system of voting, it is proposed to make suitable amendments in the Act in order to facilitate the use of electronic voting machines.

(vi) Booth capturing and rigging of elections had been on the increase in the recent past. This evil practice takes different forms, ranging from physical threat to the voter to forcible occupation of polling stations. A large part of our electorate consists of people who are poor and also belong to weaker sections of the society. It is, therefore, necessary to deal with this evil firmly. The Election Law, as it stands, does not contain any provisions to deal with this offence. It has, therefore, been proposed to include specific and penal provisions in the Representation of the People Act, 1951, to deal with this offence and to make it also as a corrupt practice.

(vii) The present penalty for disturbing election meetings is only a meagre fine of Rs. 250. It is proposed to modify this provision by providing for a term of imprisonment for three months and also enhance the quantum of the fine to Rs. 1,000.

Amendment Act 21 of 1989 - Statement of Objects and Reasons. - The Constitution (Sixty-first Amendment) Act, 1988 is an historic step in reducing the age of voting from 21 to 18 years and thus providing opportunity of participation to younger generation in the functioning of Parliamentary democracy. It has, therefore, as a consequential measure, become necessary to amend the Representation of the People Act, 1950.

2. The Election Commission started the process of revision of electoral rolls covering all those who have now become eligible to vote. For this purpose, 1st of April, 1989 has been proposed to be the qualifying date. It is, therefore, necessary to amend section 14 of the 1950 Act and to validate the actions taken by the Election Commission in this regard. It is also necessary that section 19 of the 1950 Act should be amended to provide 18 years as the voting age.

3. Opportunity is also being availed of to amend section 9 of the 1950-Act for empowering the Election Commission to consolidate all information relating to Delimitatidn of Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies, it is also proposed to omit the reference to "Town Committees" in the Fourth Schedule to the 1950-Act so as to keep the same in conformity with the Maharashtra Municipalities Act, 1965.

Amendment Act 29 of 1996-Statement of Objects and Reasons. - The Fourth Schedule to the Representation of the People Act, 1950 specifies the local authorities for the purpose of election to the Legislative Councils in the States having Legislative Councils.

2. Consequent to the coming into force of the Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992 and the Constitution (Seventy-fourth Amendment) Act, 1992, the State of Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh had amended the laws relating to the local bodies. The State of Karnataka has recommended that for the existing entries in the Fourth Schedule to the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the entries, namely, City Municipal Corporations, City Municipal Councils, Town Municipal Councils, Town Panchayats, Zila Panchayats, Taluk Panchayats and Cantonment Boards may be substituted. Similarly, in the said Schedule, for the entries relating to Uttar Pradesh, the following entries shall be substituted as recommended by the State Government of Uttar Pradesh, namely, Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils, Zila Panchayats, Nagar Panchayats, Kshetra Panchayats and Cantonment Boards.

Amendment Act 6 of 2003 - Statement of Objects and Reasons. - Sub-clause (a) of clause (3) of article 171 of the Constitution provides that as nearly as may be, one-third of the total number of members of the Legislative Council of a State are to be elected by the electorate consisting of members of municipalities, district boards and such other local authorities in the State as Parliament may by law specify. Further, section 27 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 provides the procedure for preparation of the electoral rolls for the Council constituencies and also qualifications for the electorate. Sub-section (2) of the said section provides that every member of each such local authority exercising jurisdiction in any place or area within the limits of such local authorities' constituency as specified in relation to a State in the Fourth Schedule to the Representation of People Act, 1950 shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll for that constituency.

2. The Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth amendments to the Constitution respectively have made important changes in the structure of Panchayats and Municipalities. In pursuance of these amendments, the State of Bihar has made changes in its own laws thus necessitating the amendments in the Fourth Schedule to the said Act under the heading pertaining to the State of Bihar. Consequently, the entries concerning Municipalities, District Boards and Notified Area Committees do not exist and entries relating to Nagar Parishads, Nagar Panchayats, Nagar Nigams (Corporations) and Gram Panchayats need to be inserted.

Amendment Act 2 of 2004 - Statement of Objects and Reasons. - Section 13-AA was inserted in the Representation of the People Act, 1950 in the year 1966. The said section provides for designation or nomination of an officer as the district election officer for each district in a State, other than a Union territory, as the chief electoral officer was unable to cope up with the burden of the election work. At that time, there was no concept of districts in the Union territories and therefore, the provision of district election officer was not made applicable to the Union territories. The district election officer coordinates and supervises the work relating to preparation and revision of electoral rolls and conduct of elections for all parliamentary, assembly and council constituencies within the district concerned.

2. The Election Commission has stated that the Union territories are now divided into districts for administrative efficiency and has, therefore, recommended amendment of section 13-AA to provide for designation or nomination of district election officers in the Union territories including the National Capital Territory of Delhi, which will facilitate better management of elections in the Union territories. The Election Commission has also requested that in view of the ensuring general election of the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, urgent action may be taken to carry out the proposed amendments and accordingly, the Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance, 2003 (Ord. 5 of 2003) was promulgated on 29-10-2003.

3. By the said Ordinance section 13-AA of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 was amended to provide for nomination or designation of district election officers in all the Union territories and consequential amendments were also carried out in section 26 and 78 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

Amendment Act 41 of 2009 - Statement of Objects and Reasons. - In any Parliamentary form of Government and in a democracy, the process of election has to be free, fair and equitable. During the years, it has been felt that it is necessary to take some need-based measures to remove certain loopholes noticed in the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (43 of 1950) and the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951). In July, 2004, the Election Commission of India had forwarded a set of 22 proposals on electoral reforms to the Government for consideration.

2. While considering the proposals of the Election Commission, it was considered appropriate to examine certain proposals in respect of the electoral reforms. The following five proposals have been examined by the Government which relates to amendments of the aforesaid Acts of 1950 and 1951. The said amendments are as follows:-

(a) the Representation of the People Act, 1950: appointment of the appellate authority within the district against the orders of the electoral registration officers (amendment of section 24);

(b) the Representation of the People Act, 1951:-

(i) simplification of procedure for disqualification of a person found guilty of corrupt practices (specifying a time limit in section 8-A);

(ii) increase in the security deposit of the candidates nominated for elections (amendment of section 34);

(iii) inclusion in section 123(7) of all officials appointed in connection with the conduct of elections so as to bring them within the ambit of corrupt practices, if they indulge in furtherance of the prospects of the candidates at elections; and

(iv) restricting the publication of results of all exit polls by whatever means till the last poll in an election is held, by insertion of new sections 126-A and 126-B. This is considered necessary due to the complexities of the election process, which is increasing day-by-day, and as such elections are being held in several phases. In such staggering of election schedules over a large period of time it is felt that the telecast of exit polls after each phase of polling affects the outcome in the subsequent phase of elections. It is believed that such telecast of exit polls affect the turnout of voters' also.

4. The Representation of the People (Second Amendment) Bill, 2008 seeks to achieve the above said objectives.

2. Definitions. - [*] In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) "article" means an article of the Constitution;

(b) "Assembly constituency" means a constituency provided [by law] for the purpose of elections to the Legislative Assembly of a State;

(c) "Council constituency" means a constituency provided [by law] for the purpose of elections to the Legislative Council of a State;

[* * *]

(d) "Election Commission" means the Election Commission appointed by the President under article 324;

(e) "Order" means an Order published in the Official Gazette;

(f) "Parliamentary constituency" means a constituency provided [by law] for the purpose of elections to the House of the People;

[* * *]

(g) "person" does not include a body of persons;

(h) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

[(i) "State" includes a Union territory;

(j) "State Government", in relation to a Union territory, means the administrator thereof;]

[* * *]

PART II

Allocation of Seats and Delimitation of Constituencies

The House of the People

[3. Allocation of seats in the House of the People .-The allocation of seats to the States in the House of the People and the number of seats, if any, to be reserved for the Scheduled Castes and for the Scheduled Tribes of each State shall be as shown in the First Schedule.]

3A. Reservation of seats in the House of the People for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in certain Union Territories. - [ Repealed by the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act , 1958 (58 of 1958), section 3.]

[4. Filling of seats in the House of the People and Parliamentary constituencies.] - [* * *]

[(2) All the seats in the House of the People allotted to the States under section 3 shall be seats to be filled by persons chosen by direct election from Parliamentary constituencies in the States.]

[(3) Every Parliamentary constituency referred to in sub-section (2) shall be a single-member constituency.

(4) Every State to which only one seat is allotted under section 3 shall form one Parliamentary constituency.]

[(5) Save as provided in sub-section (4), the extent of all Parliamentary constituencies except the Parliamentary constituencies in the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Manipur and Nagaland shall be as determined by the orders of the Delimitation Commission made under the provisions of the Delimitation Act, 2002 (33 of 2002) and the extent of the Parliamentary constituencies in the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Manipur and Nagaland shall be as provided for in the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 2008 having regard to the provisions of sections 10-A and 10-B of the Delimitation Act, 2002 (33 of 2002).]

5. Parliamentary constituencies. - [ Repealed by the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act , 1956 (2 of 1956), section 4.]

6. Delimitation of Parliamentary constituencies. - [ Repealed by the Adaptation of Laws (No. 2) Order, 1956.]

The State Legislative Assemblies

[7. Total number of seats in Legislative Assemblies and Assembly constituencies. - (1) [Subject to the provisions of ][sub-sections (1-A), (1-B) and (1-C)][, the total number of seats] in the Legislative Assembly of each State specified in the Second Schedule, to be filled by persons chosen by direct election from Assembly constituencies, and the number of seats, if any, to be reserved for the Scheduled Castes and for the Scheduled Tribes of the State, shall be as shown in that Schedule:

Provided that for the period referred to in clause (2) of article 371-A, the total number of seats allotted to the Legislative Assembly of the State of Nagaland shall be [fifty-two], of which-

(a) [twelve seats] shall be allocated to the Tuensang district and shall be filled by persons chosen by the members of the regional council, referred to in that article, from amongst themselves in such manner as the Governor, after consulting that Council may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify, and

(b) the remaining forty seats shall be filled by persons chosen by direct election from Assembly constituencies in the rest of the State.

[(1-A) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the total number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of the State of Sikkim, to be constituted at any time after the commencement of the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1980, to be filled by persons chosen by direct election from Assembly constituencies shall be thirty-two, of which-

(a) twelve seats shall be reserved for Sikkimese of Bhutia-Lepcha origin;

(b) two seats shall be reserved for the Scheduled Castes of that State; and

Explanation. - In this sub-section "Bhutia" includes Chumbipa, Dopthapa, Dukpa, Kagatey, Sherpa, Tibetan, Tromopa and Yolmo.]

[(1-B) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), in the Legislative Assemblies of the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland, to be constituted at any time after the commencement of the Representation of the People (Third Amendment) Act, 1987, -

(a) ] [fifty-nine seats][shall be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assembly of the State of Arunachal Pradesh;

(b) fifty-five seats shall be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assembly of the State of Meghalaya;

(c) thirty-nine seats shall be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assembly of the State of Mizoram; and

(d) fifty-nine seats shall be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assembly of the State of Nagaland.]

[(1-C) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), twenty seats shall be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assembly of the State of Tripura to be constituted at any time after the commencement of the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1992.]

(2) Every Assembly constituency referred to [in sub-section (1) or sub-section 1-A)] shall be a single-member constituency.

[(3) The extent of each Assembly constituency in all the States and Union territories except the Assembly constituencies in the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Manipur and Nagaland shall be as determined by the orders of the Delimitation Commission made under the provisions of the Delimitation Act, 2002 (33 of 2002) and the extent of each Assembly constituency in the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Manipur and Nagaland shall be as provided for in the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 2008 having regard to the provisions of sections 10-A and 10-B of the Delimitation Act, 2002 (33 of 2002).]

[7A. Total number of seats in the Legislative Assembly in Sikkim and Assembly constituencies. - (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 7, in the Legislative Assembly of the State of Sikkim [deemed under the Constitution (Thirty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1975 to be the Legislative Assembly of that State duly constituted, the total number of seats to be filled by persons chosen by direct election from Assembly constituencies shall be 32.

(2) Every Assembly constituency referred to in sub-section (1) shall be a single-member constituency.

(3) In the Legislative Assembly so deemed to be duly constituted, the extent of each constituency and the reservation of seats shall be as provided for immediately before the commencement of the Constitution (Thirty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1975.]

The Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order

8. Consolidation of delimitation orders. - [(1) Having regard to all the orders referred to in sub-section (5) of section 4 and sub-section (3) of section 7 relating to the delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies in all States and Union territories, except the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Manipur and Nagaland, made by the Delimitation Commission and published in the Official Gazette, the Election Commission shall¬-

(a) after making such amendments as appear to it to be necessary for bringing up-to-date the description of the extent of the Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies as given in such orders, without, however, altering the extent of any such constituency;

(b) after taking into account the provisions of the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 1976, as made applicable pursuant to the orders made by the President under section 10-A of the Delimitation Act, 2002 (33 of 2002) relating to delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies in the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Nagaland, and the provisions of section 10-B of the said Act relating to delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies in the State of Jharkhand, consolidate all such orders into one single order to be known as the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 2008 and shall send authentic copies of that Order to the Central Government and to the Government of each State having a Legislative Assembly; and thereupon that Order shall supersede all the orders referred to in sub-section (5) of section 4 and sub¬-section (3) of section 7 and shall have the force of law and shall not be called in question in any Court.]

(2) As soon as may be, after the said Order is received by the Central Government or by the Government of a State, that Government shall cause it to be laid before the House of the People or, as the case may be, the Legislative Assembly of the State.

[(3) The consolidation under sub-section (1) of the orders referred to in sub-section (5) of section 4, or as the case may be, sub-section (3) of section 7 shall not, ][as provided in sub-section (5) of section 10 of the Delimitation Act, 2002 (33 of 2002)], [affect the representation in, and the territorial constituencies of, the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of the State existing on the date of publication in the Gazette of India of any such order or orders as may be relevant.]

[8A. Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies in the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur or Nagaland. - (1) If the President is satisfied that the situation and the conditions prevailing in the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur or Nagaland are conducive for the conduct of delimitation exercise, he may, by order, rescind the deferment order issued under the provisions of section 10-A of the Delimitation Act, 2002 (33 of 2002) in relation to that State, and provide for the conduct of delimitation exercise in the State by the Election Commission.

(2) As soon as may be after the deferment order in respect of a State is rescinded under sub-section (1), the Election Commission may, by order, determine¬-

(a) the Parliamentary constituencies into which such State to which more than one seat is allotted in the First Schedule shall be divided;

(b) the extent of each constituency; and

(3) As soon as may be after the deferment order in respect of a State is rescinded under sub-section (1), the Election Commission may, by order, determine¬-

(a) the Assembly constituencies into which such State shall be divided for the purpose of elections to the Legislative Assembly of that State;

(b) the extent of each constituency; and

(4) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (1), the Election Commission shall, having regard to the provisions of the Constitution and the principles specified in clauses (c) and (d) of sub-section (1) of section 9 of the Delimitation Act, 2002 (33 of 2002) determine the Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies in the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Nagaland in which seats shall be reserved, if any, for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.

(5) The Election Commission shall, -

(a) publish its proposals under sub-sections (2), (3) and (4) with respect to any State in the Official Gazette and also in such other manner as it thinks fit;

(b) specify a date on or after which the proposals will be further considered by it;

(d) hold, for the purpose of such consideration, if it thinks fit so to do, one or more public sittings at such place or places in such State as it thinks fit;

(e) after considering all objections and suggestions which may have been received by it before the date so specified, determine, by order, the delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies in the State and also the constituency or constituencies in which seats shall be reserved, if any, for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes and cause such order to be published in the Official Gazette; and, upon such publication, the order shall have the force of law and shall not be called in question in any Court and the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 2008 shall be deemed to have been amended accordingly.

(6) Every order made under sub-sections (1) and (2) and clause (e) of sub¬-section (5) shall be laid before each House of Parliament.

(7) Every order made under sub-sections (1) and (3) and clause (e) of sub¬-section (5) shall, as soon as may be after it is published under that sub-section, be laid before the Legislative Assembly of the State concerned.]

9. Power of Election Commission to maintain Delimitation Order up-to-date.-(1) The Election Commission may, from time to time, by notification published in the Gazette of India, and in the Official Gazette of the State concerned,-

[(a) correct any printing mistake in the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 2008 or any error arising therein from inadvertent slip or omission;

(aa) make such amendments in the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 2008 as appear to it to be necessary or expedient for consolidating with that Order any notification or order relating to delimitation of Parliamentary or Assembly constituencies (including reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes in such constituencies) issued under section 8-A of this Act or any other Central Act;

(b) where the boundaries or name of any district or any territorial division mentioned in the Order are or is altered, make such amendments as appear to it to be necessary or expedient for bringing the Order up-to-date.

[(c) make such amendments in the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 2008 as appear to it to be necessary or expedient for bringing the Order up-to-date by including therein and excluding therefrom the relevant areas, consequent upon the exchange of one hundred and eleven enclaves of India and fifty-one enclaves of Bangladesh with effect from 31st July, 2015, in pursuance of the Constitution (One Hundredth Amendment) Act, 2015.]

(2) Every notification under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is issued, before the House of the People and the Legislative Assembly to the State concerned.]

9A. Power of Election Commission to determine the constituencies to be reserved for Scheduled Tribes in certain States. - [ Omitted by the Representation of People (Amendment) Act, 2008 (10 of 2008), section 7 (w.e.f. 16-4-2008).]

9B. Power of Election Commission to determine certain constituencies to be reserved for Scheduled Tribesin the State of Tripura. - [ Omitted by the Representation of People (Amendment) Act, 2008 (10 of 2008), section 7 (w.e.f. 16-4-2008).]

The State Legislative Councils

10. Allocation of seats in the Legislative Councils. - (1) The allocation of seats in the Legislative Councils of the States having such Councils shall be as shown in the Third Schedule.

(2) In the Legislative Council of each State specified in the first column of the Third Schedule, there shall be the number of seats specified in the second column thereof opposite to that State, and of those seats,-

(a) the numbers specified in the third, fourth and fifth columns shall be the numbers of seats to be filled by persons elected, respectively, by the electorates referred to in sub-clauses (a), (b) and (c) of clause (3) of article 171;

(b) the number specified in the sixth column shall be the number of seats to be filled by persons elected by the members of the Legislative Assembly of the State from amongst persons who are not members of that Assembly; and

(c) the number specified in the seventh column shall be the number of seats to be filled by persons nominated by the Governor [* * *] of the State in accordance with the provisions of clause (5) of article 171.

[* * *]

11. Delimitation of Council constituencies. - As soon as may be after the commencement of this Act, the President shall, by order, determine-

(a) the constituencies into which each State having a Legislative Council shall be divided for the purpose of elections to that Council under each of the sub-clauses (a), (b) and (c) of clause (3) of article 171;

(b) the extent of each constituency; and

Provisions as to orders delimiting constituencies

12. Power to alter or amend orders. - [(1)] The President may, from time to time, after consulting the Election Commission, by order, alter or amend any order made by him under [* * *] section 11.

[(2) An order under sub-section (1) may contain provisions for the allocation of any member representing any Council constituency immediately before the making of the order to any constituency delimited a new or altered by the order and for such other incidental and consequential matters as the President may deem necessary.]

13. Procedure as to orders delimiting constituencies. - [* * *]

[* * *]

(3) Every order made under [* * *] section 11 or section 12 shall be laid before Parliament as soon as may be after it is made, and shall be subject to such modifications as Parliament may make on a motion made within twenty days from the date on which the order is so laid.

[PART II-A]

Officers

13A. Chief electoral officers. - (1) There shall be for each State a chief electoral officer who shall be such officer of Government as the Election Commission may, in consultation with that Government, designate or nominate in this behalf.

(2) Subject to the superintendence, direction and control of the Election Commission, the chief electoral officer shall supervise the preparation, revision and correction of all electoral rolls in the State under this Act.

[13AA. District election officers. - (1) For each district in a State, ][* * *][the Election Commission shall, in consultation with the Government of the State, designate or nominate a district election officer who shall be an officer of Government:

Provided that the Election Commission may designate or nominate more than one such officer for a district if the Election Commission is satisfied that the functions of the office cannot be performed satisfactorily by one officer.

(2) Where more than one district election officer are designated or nominated for a district under the proviso to sub-section (1), the Election Commission shall in the order designating or nominating the district election officers also specify the area in respect of which each such officer shall exercise jurisdiction.

(3) Subject to the superintendence, direction and control of the chief electoral officer, the district election officer shall co-ordinate and supervise all work in the district or in the area within his jurisdiction in connection with the preparation and revision of the electoral rolls for all Parliamentary, Assembly and Council constituencies within the district.

(4) The district election officer shall also perform such other functions as may be entrusted to him by the Election Commission and the chief electoral officer.]

13B. Electoral registration officers. - (1) The electoral roll [[for each Parliamentary constituency in the State of Jammu and Kashmir or in a Union Territory not having a Legislative Assembly][, each Assembly constituency and each Council constituency] shall be prepared and revised by an electoral registration officer who shall be such officer of Government or of a local authority as the Election Commission may, in consultation with the Government of the State in which the constituency is situated, designate or nominate in this behalf.

(2) An electoral registration officer may, subject to any prescribed restrictions, employ such persons as he thinks fit for the preparation and revision of the electoral roll for the constituency.

13C. Assistant electoral registration officers. - (1) The Election Commission may appoint one or more persons as assistant electoral registration officers to assist any electoral registration officer in the performance of his functions.

(2) Every assistant electoral registration officer shall, subject to the control of the electoral registration officer, be competent to perform all or any of the functions of the electoral registration officer.

[13CC. Chief electoral officers, district election officers, etc., deemed to be on deputation to Election Commission. - The officers referred to in this Part and any other officer or staff employed in connection with the preparation, revision and correction of the electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all elections shall be deemed to be on deputation to the Election Commission for the period during which they are so employed and such officers and staff shall, during that period, be subject to the control, superintendence and discipline of the Election Commission.]

PART II-B

Electoral Rolls For Parliamentary Constituencies

[13D. Electoral rolls for Parliamentary constituencies. - (1) The electoral roll for every Parliamentary constituency, other than a Parliamentary constituency in the State of Jammu and Kashmir or in a Union territory not having Legislative Assembly, shall consist of the electoral rolls for all the Assembly constituencies comprised within that Parliamentary constituency; and, it shall not be necessary to prepare or revise separately the electoral roll for any such Parliamentary constituency:

Provided that for the period referred to in clause (2) of article 371-A, it shall be necessary to prepare and revise separately the electoral roll for that part of the Parliamentary constituency of Nagaland which comprises the Tuensang district and the provisions of Part III shall apply in relation to the preparation and revision of the electoral roll of the said part as they apply in relation to an Assembly constituency.

(2) The provisions of Part III shall apply in relation to every Parliamentary constituency in the State of Jammu and Kashmir or in a Union territory not having a Legislative Assembly as they apply in relation to an Assembly constituency].

PART III

[ELECTORAL ROLLS FOR ASSEMBLY ][* * *][CONSTITUENCIES]

[14. Definitions. - In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) "constituency" means an Assembly constituency ][* * *][;

(b) "qualifying date", in relation to the preparation or revision of every electoral roll under this Part, means ] [the 1st day of January, the 1st day of April, the 1st day of July and the 1st day of October][of the year in which it is so prepared or revised:]

[Provided that "qualifying date", in relation to the preparation or revision of every electoral roll under this Part in the year 1989, shall be the 1st day of April, 1989.]

15. Electoral roll for every constituency. - For every constituency there shall be an electoral roll which shall be prepared in accordance with the provisions of this Act under the superintendence, direction and control of the Election Commission.

16. Disqualifications for registration in an electoral roll. - (1) A person shall be disqualified for registration in an electoral roll if he-

(a) is not a citizen of India; or

(b) is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent Court; or

(c) is for the time being disqualified from voting under the provisions of any law relating to corrupt [* * *] practices and other offences in connection with elections.

(2) The name of any person who becomes so disqualified after registration shall forthwith be struck off the electoral roll in which it is included :

[Provided that the name of any person struck off the electoral roll of a constituency by reason of a disqualification under clause (c) of sub-section (1) shall forthwith be re-instated in that roll if such disqualification is, during the period such roll is in force, removed under any law authorizing such removal.]

17. No person to be registered in more than one constituency. - No person shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll for more than one constituency [* * *].

18. No person to be registered more than once in any constituency.-No person shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll for any constituency more than once.

[19. Conditions of registration. - Subject to the foregoing provisions of this Part, every person who-

(a) is not less than ] [eighteen years][of age on the qualifying date, and

(b) is ordinarily resident in a constituency, shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll for that constituency.]

20. Meaning of "ordinarily resident". - [(1) A person shall not be deemed to be ordinarily resident in a constituency on the ground only that he owns, or is in possession of, a dwelling house therein.

(1-A) A person absenting himself temporarily from his place of ordinary residence shall not by reason thereof cease to be ordinarily resident therein.

(1-B) A member of Parliament or of the Legislature of a State shall not during the term of his office cease to be ordinarily resident in the constituency in the electoral roll of which he is registered as an elector at the time of his election as such member, by reason of his absence from that constituency in connection with his duties as such member.]

(2) A person who is a patient in any establishment maintained wholly or mainly for the reception and treatment of persons suffering from mental illness or mental defectiveness, or who is detained in prison or other legal custody at any place, shall not by reason thereof be deemed to be ordinarily resident therein.

[(3) Any person having a service qualification shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident on any date in the constituency in which, but for his having such service qualification, he would have been ordinarily resident on that date.]

(4) Any person holding any office in India declared by the President in consultation with the Election Commission to be an office to which the provisions of this sub-section apply, [* * *] shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident [* * *] on any date in the constituency in which, but for the holding of any such office [* * *], he would have been ordinarily resident [* * *] on that date.

(5) The statement of any such person as is referred to in sub-section (3) or sub-section (4) made in the prescribed form and verified in the prescribed manner, that [but for his having the service qualification] or but for his holding any such office [* * *] as is referred to in sub-section (4) he would have been ordinarily resident, in a specified place [* * *] on any date, shall, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, be [accepted as correct.]

(6) The [spouse] of any such person as is referred to in sub-section (3) or sub-section (4) shall, [if such spouse] be ordinarily residing with such person [* * *] be deemed to be ordinarily resident [* * *] in the constituency specified by such person under sub-section (5).

[(7) If in any case a question arises as to where a person is ordinarily resident at any relevant time, the question shall be determined with reference to all the facts of the case and to such rules as may be made in this behalf of the Central Government in consultation with the Election Commission.

(8) In sub-sections (3) and (5) "service qualification" means-

(a) being a member of the armed forces of the Union; or

(b) being a member of a force to which the provisions of the Army Act, 1950, have been made applicable whether with or without modifications; or

(d) being a person who is employed under the Government of India, in a post outside India.]

[20A. Special provisions for citizens of India residing outside India. - (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, every citizen of India,-

(a) whose name is not included in the electoral roll;

(b) who has not acquired the citizenship of any other country; and

(c) who is absenting from his place of ordinary residence in India owing to his employment, education or otherwise outside India (whether temporarily or not), shall be entitled to have his name registered in the electoral roll in the constituency in which his place of residence in India as mentioned in his passport is located.

(2) The time within which the name of persons referred to in sub-section (1) shall be registered in the electoral roll and the manner and procedure for registering of a person in the electoral roll under sub-section (1) shall be such as may be prescribed.

(3) Every person registered under this section shall, if otherwise eligible to exercise his franchise, be allowed to vote at an election in the constituency.]

[21. Preparation and revision of electoral rolls. - (1) The electoral roll for each constituency shall be prepared in the prescribed manner by reference to the qualifying date and shall come into force immediately upon its final publication in accordance with the rules made under this Act.]

[(2) The said electoral roll-

(a) shall, unless otherwise directed by the Election Commission for reasons to be recorded in writing, be revised in the prescribed manner by reference to the qualifying date-

(i) before each general election to the House of People or to the Legislative Assembly of a State; and

(ii) before each bye-election to fill a casual vacancy in a seat allotted to the constituency; and

(b) shall be revised in any year in the prescribed manner by reference to the qualifying date if such revision has been directed by the Election Commission:

Provided that if the electoral roll is not revised as aforesaid, the validity or continued operation of the said electoral roll shall not thereby be affected.]

[(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2), the Election Commission may at any time, for reasons to be recorded, direct a special revision of the electoral roll for any constituency or part of a constituency in such manner as it may think fit:

Provided that subject to the other provisions of this Act, the electoral roll for the constituency, as in force at the time of the issue of any such direction, shall continue to be in force until the completion of the special revision so directed.]

[22. Correction of entries in electoral rolls. - If the electoral registration officer for a constituency, on application made to him or on his own motion, is satisfied after such inquiry as he thinks fit, that any entry in the electoral roll of the constituency-

(a) is erroneous or defective in any particular,

(b) should be transposed to another place in the roll on the ground that the person concerned has changed his place of ordinary residence within the constituency, or

(c) should be deleted on the ground that the person concerned is dead or has ceased to be ordinarily resident in the constituency or is otherwise not entitled to be registered in that roll, the electoral registration officer shall, subject to such general or special direction, if any, as may be given by the Election Commission in this behalf, amend, transpose or delete the entry [after proper verification of facts in such manner as may be prescribed]:

Provided that before taking any action on any ground under clause (a) or clause (b) or any action under clause (c) on the ground that the person concerned has ceased to be ordinarily resident in the constituency or that he is otherwise not entitled to be registered in the electoral roll of that constituency, the electoral registration officer shall give the person concerned a reasonable opportunity of being heard in respect of the action proposed to be taken in relation to him [after proper verification of facts in such manner as may be prescribed].]

[23. Inclusion of names in electoral rolls. - (1) Any person whose name is not included in the electoral roll of a constituency may apply to the electoral registration officer for the inclusion of his name in that roll.

(2) The electoral registration officer shall, if satisfied that the applicant is entitled to be registered in the electoral roll, direct his name to be included therein [after proper verification of facts in such manner as may be prescribed]:

Provided that if the applicant is registered in the electoral roll of any other constituency, the electoral registration officer shall inform the electoral registration officer of that other constituency and that officer shall, on receipt of the information, strike off the applicant's name from that roll [after proper verification of facts in such manner as may be prescribed].

(3) No amendment, transposition or deletion of any entry shall be made under section 22 and no direction for the inclusion of a name in the electoral roll of a constituency shall be given under this section, after the last date for making nominations for an election in that constituency or in the Parliamentary constituency within which that constituency is comprised and before the completion of that election.]

[(4) The electoral registration officer may for the purpose of establishing the identity of any person require that such person may furnish the Aadhaar number given by the Unique Identification Authority of India as per the provisions of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 (18 of 2016):

Provided that the electoral registration officer may also require the Aadhaar number from persons already included in the electoral roll for the purposes of authentication of entries in electoral roll and to identify registration of name of the same person in the electoral roll of more than one constituency or more than once in the same constituency.

(5) Every person whose name is included in the electoral roll may intimate his Aadhaar number to such authority in such form and manner as may be prescribed, on or before a date to be notified by the Central Government in the Official Gazette.

(6) No application for inclusion of name in the electoral roll shall be denied and no entries in the electoral roll shall be deleted for inability of an individual to furnish or intimate Aadhaar number due to such sufficient cause as may be prescribed: Provided that such individual may be allowed to furnish such other alternate documents as may be prescribed.

Explanation. - For the purposes of this section, the expression "Aadhaar number" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (a) of section 2 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 (18 of 2016).]

[24. Appeals. - An appeal shall lie within such time and in such manner as may be prescribed-

(a) to the [district magistrate or additional district magistrate or executive magistrate or district collector or an officer of equivalent rank], from any order of the electoral registration officer under section 22 or section 23 ]

[* * *]

[(b) to the chief electoral officer, from any order of the district magistrate or the additional district magistrate under clause (a)]

25. Fee for applications and appeals. - Every application under section 22 or section 23 and every appeal under section 24 shall be accompanied by the prescribed fee which shall, in no case, be refunded.

[25A. Conditions of registration as elector in Sangha constituency in Sikkim. - Notwithstanding anything contained in sections 15 and 19, for the Sangha constituency in the State of Sikkim, only the Sanghas belonging to monasteries, recognised for the purpose of the elections held in Sikkim in April, 1974, for forming the Assembly for Sikkim, shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll, and the said electoral roll shall, subject to the provisions of sections 21 to 25, be prepared or revised in such manner as may be directed by the Election Commission, in consultation with the Government of Sikkim.]

PART IV

[ELECTORAL ROLLS FOR COUNCIL CONSTITUENCIES]

26. Preparation of electoral rolls for Assembly constituencies.-[ Repealed by the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1956 (2 of 1956), section 17.]

27. Preparation of electoral rolls for Council constituencies. - (1) In this section "local authorities' constituency", "graduates' constituency" and "teachers' constituency", mean a constituency for the purpose of elections to a Legislative Council under sub-clause (a), sub-clause (b) and sub-clause (c) respectively, of clause (3) of article 171.

[(2) For the purpose of elections to the Legislative Council of a State in any local authorities' constituency-

(a) the electorate shall consist of members of such local authorities exercising jurisdiction in any place or area within the limits of that constituency as are specified in relation to that State in the Fourth Schedule;

(b) every member of each such local authority within a local authorities' constituency shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll for that constituency;

(c) the electoral registration officer for every local authorities' constituency shall maintain in his office in the prescribed manner and form the electoral for that constituency corrected up-to-date;

(d) in order to enable the electoral registration officer to maintain the electoral roll corrected up-to-date, the chief executive officer of every local authority (by whatever designation such officer may be known) shall immediately inform the electoral registration officer about every change in the membership of that local authority; and the electoral registration officer shall, on receipt of the information, strike off from the electoral roll the names of persons who have ceased to be, and include therein the names of persons who have become, members of that local authority; and

(e) the provisions of sections 15, 16, 18, 22 and 23 shall apply in relation to local authorities' constituencies as they apply in relation to Assembly constituencies.]

(3) For the purpose of elections to the Legislative Council of a State in the graduates' constituencies and the teachers' constituencies, the State Government concerned may, with the concurrence of the Election Commission, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify-

(a) the qualifications which shall be deemed to be equivalent to that of a graduate of a university in the territory of India, and

(b) the educational institutions within the State not lower in standard than that of a secondary school.

[(4) The provisions of sections 15, 16, 18, 21, 22 and 23 shall apply in relation to graduates' constituencies and teachers' constituencies as they apply in relation to Assembly constituencies.]

(5) Subject to the foregoing provisions of this section,-

[* * * *]

[(a)] every person who [is] ordinarily resident in a graduates' constituency and has, for at least three years [before the qualifying date], been either a graduate of a university in the territory of India or in possession of any of the qualifications specified under clause (a) of sub-section (3) by the State Government concerned, shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll for that constituency; and

[(b)] every person who [is] ordinarily resident in a teachers' constituency, and has, within the six years immediately [before the qualifying date] for a total period of at least three years, been engaged in teaching in any of the educational institutions specified under clause (b) of sub-section (3) by the State Government concerned shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll for that constituency.

[(6) For the purposes of sub-sections (4) and (5), the qualifying date shall be the 1st day of November of the year in which the preparation or revision of the electoral roll is commenced.]

[PART IV-A]

Manner Of Filling Seats In The Council Of States To Be Filled By Representatives Of [Union Territories]

27A. Constitution of electoral colleges for the filling of seats in the Council of States allotted to Union territories. - (1) [For the purpose of filling any seat] or seats in the Council of States allotted to any [Union territory] [* * *] in the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution there shall be an electoral college for [each such territory] [* * * *].

[* * * *]

[(3) The electoral college for the Union territory of Delhi shall consist of the elected members of the Legislative Assembly constituted for that territory under the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991.]

[(4) ][The electoral college for the Union territory of ][* * *][Pondicherry] [shall consist of the elected members of the Legislative Assembly constituted for that territory under the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963.]

[* * * *]

27B. Electoral college constituencies. - [ Repealed by the Territorial Councils Act , 1956 (103 of 1956), section 65 (w.e.f.1-1-1957).]

27C. Delimitation of electoral college constituencies. - [ Repealed by the Territorial Councils Act , 1956 (103 of 1956), section 65 (w.e.f. 1-1-1957).]

27D. Power to alter or amend orders. - [ Repealed by Territorial Councils Act , 1956 (103 of 1956), section 65 (w.e.f.1-1-1957).]

27E. Procedure as to orders delimiting constituencies. - [ Repealed by the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act , 1956 (2 of 1956), section 21.]

27F. Electoral rolls for Council of States constituencies. - [ Repealed by the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act , 1956 (2 of 1956), section 22 .]

27G. Termination of membership of electoral college for certain disqualifications. - If a person who is a member of an electoral college becomes subject to any disqualification for membership of Parliament under the provisions of any law relating to corrupt and illegal practices and other offences in connection with elections to Parliament, he shall thereupon cease to be such member of the electoral college.

27H. Manner of filling of seats in the Council of States allotted to Union territories. - [* * *] The seat or seats in the Council of States allotted to any [Union territory] [* * *] in the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution shall be filled by a person or persons elected by the members of the electoral college for [that territory] [* * *] in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote:

[Provided that the person who immediately before the commencement of the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956, is filling the seat allotted to the Part C States of Manipur and Tripura shall, as from such commencement, be deemed to have been duly elected to fill the seat allotted to the Union territory of Tripura.]

27I. Special provisions for the filling of the seats in the Council of States allotted to the States of Ajmer and Coorg and the States of Manipur and Tripura. - [ Repealed by the Adaptation of Laws (No. 2) Order, 1956.]

27J. Power of electoral colleges to elect notwithstanding vacancies therein. - No election by the members of an electoral college [* * *]under this Act shall be called in question on the ground merely of the existence of any vacancy in the membership of such college [* * *].

27K. Electoral colleges for certain States for which Legislative Assemblies have been constituted. - [ Repealed by the Adaptation of Laws (No. 2) Order , 1956.]

PART V

General

28. Power to make rules. - (1) The Central Government may, after consulting the Election Commission, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.

(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:-

[(a) the determination of ordinary residence under sub-section (7) of section 20;

(aa) the particulars to be entered in the electoral rolls;]

(b) the preliminary publication of electoral rolls [* * *];

(c) the manner in which and the time within which claims and objections as to entries in electoral rolls may be preferred;

[* * * *]

(e) the manner in which notices of claims or objections shall be published;

(f) the place, date and time at which claims or objections shall be heard and the manner in which claims or objections shall be heard and disposed of;

(g) the final publication of electoral rolls;

[(h) the revision and correction of electoral rolls and inclusion of names therein;]

[(hh) the procedure for proper verification of facts for amending, transposing or deleting any entry in the electoral rolls, under section 22;

(hhh) the procedure for proper verification of facts for inclusion of or striking off, names in the electoral rolls, under sub-section (2) of section 23;].

[(hhha) the authority and the form and manner of intimation of Aadhaar number under sub-section (5) of section 23;

(hhhb) the sufficient cause and furnishing of alternate documents to be provided by the individual under sub-section (6) of section 23.]

(i) any other matter required to be prescribed by this Act.

[(3) Every rule made by the Central Government under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule, shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.]

[29. Staff of local authorities to be made available. - Every local authority in a State shall, when so requested by the chief electoral officer of the State make available to any electoral registration officer such staff as may be necessary for the performance of any duty in connection with the preparation and revision of electoral rolls.]

30. Jurisdiction of Civil Courts barred. - No Civil Court shall have jurisdiction-

(a) to entertain or adjudicate upon any question whether any person is or is not entitled to be registered in an electoral roll for a constituency; or

(b) to question the legality of any action taken by or under the authority of an electoral registration officer, or of any decision given by any authority appointed under this Act for the revision of any such roll.

[31. Making false declarations. - If any person makes in connection with-

(a) the preparation, revision or connection of an electoral roll, or

(b) the inclusion or exclusion of any entry in or from an electoral roll, a statement or declaration in writing which is false and which he either knows or believes to be false or does not believe to be true, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.]

[32. Breach of official duty in connection with the preparation, etc., of electoral rolls. - (1) If any electoral registration officer, assistant electoral registration officer or other person required by or under this Act to perform any official duty in connection with the preparation, revision or correction of an electoral roll or the inclusion or exclusion of any entry in or from that roll, is without reasonable cause, guilty of any act or omission in breach of such official duty, he shall be punishable ][with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three months but which may extend to two years and with fine.]

[(2) No suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against any such officer or other person for damages in respect of any such act or omission as aforesaid.

(3) No Court shall take cognizance of any offence punishable under sub-section (1) unless there is a complaint made by order of, or under authority from, the Election Commission or the chief electoral officer of the State concerned.]

[THE FIRST SCHEDULE]

(See section 3)

Allocation of Seats in the House of the People

	Name of the State/Union territory	Number of seats in the House as constituted in 2004 on the basis of the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 1976 as amended from time to time			Number of seats in the House as subsequently constituted as per the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 2008
	Name of the State/Union territory	Total	Reserved for the Scheduled Castes	Reserved for the Scheduled Tribes	Total	Reserved for the Scheduled Castes	Reserved for the Scheduled Tribes
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	I. STATES:
1.	Andhra Pradesh	42	6	2	42	7	2
2.	Arunachal Pradesh	2	_	_	2	_	_
3.	Assam	14	1	2	14	1	2
4.	Bihar	40	7	_	40	6	_
5.	Chhattisgarh	11	2	4	11	1	4
6.	Goa	2	_	_	2	_	_
7.	Gujarat	26	2	4	26	2	4
8.	Haryana	10	2	_	10	2	_
9.	Himachal Pradesh	4	1	_	4	1	_
10.	Jammu and Kashmir	6	_	_	6	_	_
11.	Jharkhand	14	1	5	14	1	5
12.	Karnataka	28	4	_	28	5	2
13.	Kerala	20	2	_	20	2	_
14.	Madhya Pradesh	29	4	5	29	4	6
15.	Maharashtra	48	3	4	48	5	4
16.	Manipur	2	_	1	2	_	1
17.	Meghalaya	2	_	_	2	_	2
18.	Mizoram	1	_	1	1	_	1
19.	Nagaland	1	_	_	1	_	_
20.	Orissa	21	3	5	21	3	5
21.	Punjab	13	3	_	13	4	_
22.	Rajasthan	25	4	3	25	4	3
23.	Sikkim	1	_	_	1	_	_
24.	Tamil Nadu	39	7	_	39	7	_
25.	Tripura	2	_	1	2	_	1
26.	Uttrakhand	5	_	_	5	1	_
27.	Uttar Pradesh	80	18	_	80	17	_
28.	West Bengal	42	8	2	42	10	2
	II. UNION TERRITORIES :
1.	Andaman and Nicobar Island	1	_	_	1	_	_
2.	Chandigarh	1	_	_	1	_	_
3.	Dadra and Nagar Haveli	1	_	1	1	_	1
4.	Delhi	7	1	_	7	_	_
5.	Daman and Diu	1 _	_	1	_	_
6.	Lakshadweep	1	_	1	1	_	1
7.	Pondicherry	1	_	_	1	_	_
	TOTAL:	543	79	41	543	84	47

THE SECOND SCHEDULE

(See sections 7 and 7A)

TOTAL NUMBER OF SEATS IN THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLIES

	Name of the State/Union territory	Number of seats in the House as constituted in 2004 on the basis of the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 1976 as amended from time to time			Number of seats in the House as subsequently constituted as per the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 2008
	Name of the State/Union territory	Total	Reserved for the Schedule Castes	Reserved for the Scheduled Tribes	Total	Reserved for the Scheduled Castes	Reserved for the Scheduled Tribes
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	I. STATES:
1.	Andhra Pradesh	294	39	15	294	48	19
2.	Arunachal Pradesh	60	_	59	60	_	59
3.	Assam	126	8	16	126	8	16
4.	Bihar	243	39	_	243	38	2
5.	Chhattisgarh	90	10	34	90	10	29
6.	Goa	40	1	_	40	1	_
7.	Gujarat	182	13	26	182	13	27
8.	Haryana	90	17	_	90	17	_
9.	Himachal Pradesh	68	16	3	68	17	3
10.	Jammu and Kashmir*	76	6	_
11.	Jharkhand	81	9	28	81	9	28
12.	Karnataka	224	33	2	224	36	15
13.	Kerala	140	13	1	140	14	2
14.	Madhya Pradesh	230	34	41	230	35	47
15.	Maharashtra	288	18	22	288	29	25
16.	Manipur	60	1	19	60	1	19
17.	Meghalaya	60	_	55	60	_	55
18.	Mizoram	40	_	39	40	_	39*
19.	Nagaland	60	_	59	60	_	59
20.	Orissa	147	22	34	147	24	33
21.	Punjab	117	29	_	117	34	_
22.	Rajasthan	200	33	24	200	34	25
23.	Sikkim	32	2	12**	32	2	12**
24.	Tamil Nadu	234	42	3	234	44	2
25.	Tripura	60	7	20	60	10	20
26.	Uttaranchal	70	12	3	70	13	2
27.	Uttar Pradesh	403	89	_	403	85	_
28.	West Bengal	294	59	17	294	68	16
	II. UNION TERRITORIES:
1.	Delhi	70	13	_	70	12	_
2.	Pondicherry	30	5	_	30	5	_

*Under the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir, the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of that State excluding the 24 seats earmarked for Pakistan occupied territory is 87 out of which 7 seats have been reserved for the Scheduled Castes in pursuance of the Jammu and Kashmir Representation of the People Act, 1957.

**Reserved 1 seat for Sanghas and 12 seats for the Sikkimese Bhutia Lapcha origin.

[THE THIRD SCHEDULE]

(See section 10)

ALLOCATION OF SEATS IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCILS

Name of State	Total number of seats	Number to be elected or nominated under article 171(3)
Name of State	Total number of seats	Sub-clause (a)	Sub-clause (b)	Sub-clause (c)	Sub-clause (d)	Sub-clause (e)
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
[***]
[2. Bihar]	75	24	6	6	27	12
[***]
[3.] Madhya Pradesh	90	31	8	8	31	12
[***]
[5.] Maharashtra	78	22	7	7	30	12
[6.] [Karnataka]	75	25	7	7	25	11
[***]
8. Uttar Pradesh	99	36	8	8	37	10
[***]