Delimitation Of Wards Can't Be Done Based On Individual Grievances Under 2015 Civic Election Rules: HP High Court

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has held that electoral ward boundaries cannot be redrawn merely because a single individual is dissatisfied with population distribution.The Court further remarked that delimitation is primarily an administrative exercise involving complex geographic, demographic and boundary-based considerations. The Court reiterated Rule 4 of the Himachal Pradesh Municipal Council Election Rules, 2015 which states that: “In terms of this Rule, as far as practicable each ward shall have equal population, throughout the municipal area and each ward shall be geographically compact and contiguous in areas, and shall have recognizable boundaries, such as roads, paths, lanes, streets, stream, canals etc.”Justice Ajay Mohan Goel stated that: “…if delimitation is carried out solely on the basis of an individual's grievance, it would lead to unnecessary administrative complications including the requirement for large-scale changes in official documentation of local inhabitants….”Background: On May 5, 2025 the State Election Commission issued a notification with regard to the delimitation of the wards of Municipal Council, Sundernagar. The petitioner raised objections to the proposed delimitation for Municipal Council, Sundernagar, contending that Ward No. 4 had a population of around 2400 which was higher than other wards and allegedly affected development allocation.He further contended that the development of this particular ward would be adversely affected as the funds allotted to this particular ward would be spent upon a large population, as compared to other wards and this aspect has not been taken into consideration either by the Deputy Commissioner or by the Appellate Authority.In response, the State Election Commission contended that the wards have been formed by taking into account the natural boundaries like river nallah etc., and if at this stage any interference is done, it would not be possible to maintain the formation of the wards in a harmonious manner. Case Name: Shiv Singh Sen v/s State of H.P. and others Case No.: CWP No. 12051 of 2025Date of Decision: 11.11.2025For the Petitioner: Mr. Vinod Chauhan and Nandita, Advocates.For the Respondent: Mr. Pushpinder Jaswal, Additional Advocate General, for respondents No.4. Mr. Surinder K. Sharma, Advocate, for respondent No.4. Mr.Rajesh Kashyap, Advocate, for respondent No.5.Click Here To Read/Download Order

Delimitation Of Wards Can't Be Done Based On Individual Grievances Under 2015 Civic Election Rules: HP High Court

Mehak Aggarwal

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