Supreme Court to hear plea on ward boundary changes during Census freeze

Can States change ward boundaries during Census freeze? SC to hear plea

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a petition questioning whether State governments can carry out fresh delimitation of wards and alter boundaries during an ongoing Census exercise.

A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant indicated that the case would be listed for hearing on October 9.

Petition raises question with nationwide implications

The petition was filed by Paka Suresh, a former Mayor of the Kadapa Municipal Corporation in Andhra Pradesh.

It argues that the issue is of general public importance because it concerns the conduct of Census 2027 and has implications for the entire country.

At the centre of the dispute is Rule 8(iv) of the Census Rules 1990.

The rule requires State governments to “freeze the administrative boundaries of districts, tehsils, towns, etc.” from the date intimated by the Census Commissioner.

The petition questions whether that restriction also applies to wards within municipal areas while the Census-related work is under way.

The boundary freeze is linked to the way Census units are organised and recorded.

During this period, the authorities undertake the coding of units, along with the formation, house-listing and enumeration of blocks.

The purpose is to ensure that every unit is counted against a fixed territorial frame.

That fixed frame is intended to prevent any area or person from being omitted or counted twice, while also keeping the data comparable across units and across Censuses.

Dispute over the period of prohibition

The petitioner, represented by advocate Mahfooz Ahsan Nazki, said the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India issued the period of prohibition under the rule on August 13, 2025.

According to the petition, the order froze the boundaries of administrative units from January 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027.

The question of whether the expression ‘administrative blocks’ also covers ‘wards’ came before the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

In its judgment on October 1, the High Court ruled in favour of the Andhra Pradesh government.

It held that the prohibition against delimitation issued under the Census Act applied only to an ‘administrative block’, such as a ‘municipality’, and did not extend to a ‘ward’.

That interpretation has now been challenged before the Supreme Court.

Conflicting High Court judgments

During an oral mentioning, Mr. Nazki submitted that the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s conclusion conflicted with a judgment of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court had held that the prohibition on delimitation under Rule 8(iv) of the 1990 Rules extended to wards within a municipal area.

“There is a direct conflict between two High Courts on a provision of a Central statute that operates uniformly throughout India, and an authoritative pronouncement of the Supreme Court is required,” Mr. Nazki submitted.

The disagreement therefore concerns the interpretation of a provision that, according to the petitioner’s submission, operates uniformly throughout India.

The Supreme Court’s consideration is also being sought because the two High Courts have taken different views on whether wards fall within the boundary freeze.

Why ward boundaries matter to the Census

The petition said a ‘ward’ is a basic territorial unit on which the Census is conducted in urban areas.

It warned that permitting changes in ward boundaries at this advanced stage could affect work already carried out by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.

“If changes in ward boundaries are permitted at this advanced stage, the entire exercise carried out by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India would be rendered meaningless,” the petition said.

The petition further said that each reconstituted ward would have to be assigned a fresh code.

It also said that the house-listing and enumeration blocks drawn within the old wards would no longer correspond to the new ones.

That is the central administrative concern placed before the Supreme Court: whether changes to ward boundaries can be made while the territorial structure used for coding, house-listing and enumeration is already frozen.

The Court indicated that it would hear the matter on October 9.

Source: The Hindu