Ward delimitation: A rushed decision without legal basis

The Kerala High Court's decision to quash the ward delimitation carried out under interim measures in eight municipalities and one panchayat in Malabar is a major setback for the state government. The court verdict came after the government had completed the delimitation process and released a draft notification in this regard. The court quashed the delimitation, deeming it entirely illegal, as it was implemented solely with political motives. The court's verdict sends a clear message that bypassing laws and rules for the political interests of the ruling front is unacceptable. Upon examining the court's order, which was issued while allowing petitions filed by UDF activists, it becomes evident that the new ward delimitation which has reached up to the draft notification is also susceptible to judicial intervention.

The High Court has annulled the ward delimitation in municipalities including Panoor, Mattannur, Mukkam, Payyoli, Feroke, Koduvally, Sreekandapuram, Pattambi, and the Padanna panchayat in the Malabar region. The petitioners argued that the wards were reorganised with electoral victory in mind, a claim that cannot be dismissed outright. With a new census set to take place soon, there was no immediate need to conduct ward delimitation based on the 2011 census. Despite this, the wards in the mentioned municipalities and panchayat were reorganised. These local bodies, which were established only in 2015, were initially formed based on the 2011 census. Reorganizing these wards again using the same census data was pointed out as a violation of the relevant laws and rules, leading the court to completely invalidate the changes.

Whenever undertaking a legislative amendment, the government must move forward only after considering the possibility of it being challenged in court. It should not be guided by selfish interests. It cannot be said that the government made an impartial decision regarding ward delimitation. The widespread protests and complaints still being raised against the ward reorganisation prove this point. Opposition parties allege that the new wards have mostly been formed in a manner that consolidates areas where the ruling party has political influence, thereby ensuring electoral advantages. A thorough examination would reveal that there is truth in this claim. The opposition fears that this process will undermine the chances of fair success in the local elections.

Putting aside political gains and losses, the current ward delimitation could create unnecessary troubles for the general public. Along with the ward changes, house numbers will also need to be reassigned. Due to frequent ward reorganisations, permanent addresses have already been changing repeatedly. With the current changes, there is a proposal to provide permanent numbers to satisfy homeowners. Considering that a new census is about to be conducted, wouldn’t it have been more appropriate to carry out the ward delimitation afterwards? If ward delimitation absolutely needed to be completed before the elections, couldn’t the process have been completed in a way that caused minimal changes? Making decisions with a sole focus on political gains only leads to unnecessary difficulties for the public.