The First Delimitation Commission in India was constituted in
- (a)1949
- (b)1950
- (c)1951
- (d)1952
Correct — D, 1952. Delimitation in India is not done by the Election Commission on its own initiative; it is done by a Delimitation Commission set up under a law made by Parliament for that purpose, as Article 82 requires after every census. The first such law was the Delimitation Commission Act, 1952, and the first Commission was constituted under it that year, to redraw parliamentary and assembly constituencies on the basis of the 1951 Census. The earlier dates in the options belong to other founding moments that candidates blur together — the Constituent Assembly's final year, the commencement of the Constitution and the first Census of independent India — none of which produced a Delimitation Commission.
- (a)1949 — The Constitution was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, which is why the year feels significant. No delimitation body existed then; the constituencies for the first general election were still to be drawn.
- (b)1950 — The Constitution commenced on 26 January 1950 and the Election Commission of India came into being on 25 January 1950. Neither event is the constitution of a Delimitation Commission, and Article 82 requires a separate law for that.
- (c)1951 — The first Census of independent India was taken in 1951 and the first general election began at the end of that year. The census supplies the data for delimitation, but the Commission that used it was set up the following year.
Delimitation is the redrawing of the boundaries of Lok Sabha and State Assembly constituencies so that each holds a roughly comparable population, and so that seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are placed where those populations are concentrated. Article 82 says that after every census the allocation of seats and the division of States into constituencies shall be readjusted by such authority and in such manner as Parliament by law determines. The instrument Parliament has used each time is a Delimitation Commission headed by a serving or retired Supreme Court judge, with the Chief Election Commissioner and the State Election Commissioner as members.
Four Delimitation Commissions have been set up so far, under the Delimitation Commission Acts of 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002. The one detail worth carrying into any question on this subject is how insulated the Commission's orders are: they have the force of law, they cannot be called in question in any court, and when they are laid before the Lok Sabha or a State Assembly those Houses may discuss them but cannot modify them. Nothing about that has changed since 2020, but the timetable has moved into view — the freeze imposed on the number of seats has been extended to the first census taken after 2026, so the next delimitation is a live political question rather than a historical one.
- Article 82 requires a readjustment of seats and constituencies after every census, by an authority Parliament determines by law.
- The first Delimitation Commission was constituted in 1952 under the Delimitation Commission Act, 1952.
- Four Commissions have been constituted in all, under the Acts of 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002.
- A Delimitation Commission is headed by a serving or retired judge of the Supreme Court, with the Chief Election Commissioner and the concerned State Election Commissioner as members.
- Its orders have the force of law and cannot be called in question in any court; legislatures may discuss them but cannot amend them.
- 26 November 1949 — the Constituent Assembly adopts the Constitution
- 25 January 1950 — the Election Commission of India comes into being; the Constitution commences the next day
- 1951 — the first Census of independent India, whose figures the first delimitation would use
- 1952 — the Delimitation Commission Act is passed and the first Delimitation Commission is constituted
- 1962, 1972, 2002 — the three later Commissions, under Acts of the same years
The distractors are the three neighbouring landmarks; only the fourth entry answers the question asked.
- Confusing 1950, the year the Election Commission of India came into being, with 1952, the year the first Delimitation Commission was constituted.
- Assuming the Election Commission carries out delimitation on its own; it supplies the Chief Election Commissioner as a member of a separate Commission.
- Assuming Parliament can amend a delimitation order laid before it — it may discuss but not modify.
As a bare date, as a count of how many Commissions there have been, or as a statements item on the finality of the Commission's orders.
How many Delimitation Commissions have been constituted by the Government of India till December 2023 ?
- (a) One
- (b) Two
- (c) Three
- (d) Four
Answer(d) Four
The same series counted rather than dated. Fix the four years — 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002 for the enabling Acts — and both this question and the CDS one about the first Commission are answered from one fact.
With reference to the Delimitation Commission, consider the following statements: 1. The orders of the Delimitation Commission cannot be challenged in a Court of Law. 2. When the orders of the Delimitation Commission are laid before the Lok Sabha or State Legislative Assembly, they cannot effect any modifications in the orders. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer(c) Both 1 and 2
The other half of the topic — not when the Commission was set up but how insulated its orders are once made, which is the aspect UPSC has tested more often.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Under which one of the following Articles of the Constitution of India is the readjustment of seats and constituencies after every census provided for?
- (a)Article 80
- (b)Article 82
- (c)Article 324
- (d)Article 330
Answer(b) Article 82 — it requires the readjustment to be made by such authority and in such manner as Parliament may by law determine, which is how Delimitation Commissions come to be set up.
- practice — not a real PYQ
A Delimitation Commission in India is headed by
- (a)the Chief Election Commissioner
- (b)a serving or retired judge of the Supreme Court
- (c)the Speaker of the Lok Sabha
- (d)the Union Law Minister
Answer(b) a serving or retired judge of the Supreme Court — with the Chief Election Commissioner and the concerned State Election Commissioner as the other members.