Supreme Court rejects plea for delimitation in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana

The Supreme Court of India today refused a petition seeking direction to the Union of India to conduct delimitation exercise for the States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

"This will open floodgates for all states to approach seeking parity", Justice Surya Kant said today in court while reading out from the judgment.

Delimitation refers to the act or process of fixing limits or boundaries of territorial constituencies in a country or a province having a legislative body.

The supreme court further refused the petitioner, one K Purshottam Reddy's plea saying that Andhra Pradesh and Telangana could not be treated the same as Jammu and Kashmir where the number of assembly seats were increased recently.

"Delimitation was conducted in J&K and seats were increased. It was thus contended that AP and Telangana were left out. J&K having been reconstituted is not governed by Chapter 3, Part 7 of the constitution. Thus we find no merit that exclusion of AP and Telangana is arbitrary or violative of the constitution", the bench said.

In 2023, the Supreme Court had dismissed a petition challenging the delimitation exercise carried out for redrawing the Legislative Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir.

A plea was filed in March 2022 before the Supreme Court of India seeking a direction in the nature of Writ of Mandamus declaring the increase in the number of seats from 83 to 90 i.e., (107 to 114 including 24 seats in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir) in Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir by the central government is ultra vires the Articles 81, 82, 170, 330 and 332 and Section 63 of the Jammu & Kashmir Re-organisation Act, 2019.

Therein the petitioners had sought a declaration that the notification on constituting the Delimitation Commission to take up delimitation in the UT of J&K is unconstitutional as it amounts to classification and violates Article 14.

Case Title: Purushottam Reddy Vs UOI

Judgment Date: July 25, 2025

Bench: Justices Kant and Bagchi