Representation of the People Act, 1950

The Supreme Court examined whether persons residing in illegally constructed houses (encroachers) within a cantonment area are entitled to vote in Cantonment Board elections. The Court interpreted the Cantonment Act, 2006 and its definitions of "resident" and "inhabitant", holding that only a person who maintains a leg…

The Public Interest Committee sought proportional representation for the Limboo‑Tamang Scheduled Tribes in the Lok Sabha and the legislative assemblies of West Bengal and Sikkim, arguing that the 2006 Delimitation Notification and the 2008 Delimitation Order failed to incorporate the tribes after their inclusion under …

The case concerns the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, which grants citizenship to certain migrants from Bangladesh to Assam based on cut-off dates (before 1.1.1966 and between 1.1.1966 and 25.3.1971). The provision was enacted to implement the Assam Accord. Petitioners challenged it …

The petition challenged the increase in seats of the Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory Legislative Assembly and the constitution of a Delimitation Commission under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 and the Delimitation Act, 2002. The Court held that Article 170, which governs State legislatures, does not a…

The State of Goa appointed its Law Secretary as State Election Commissioner (SEC) to oversee municipal elections that had been postponed due to COVID‑19. The SEC, acting under this dual role, issued a reservation order on 4 February 2021 and a subsequent election schedule, which were challenged in writ petitions allegi…

The petitioners challenged the view that a person confined in prison or in police custody, who is barred from voting under sub‑section (5) of Section 62 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, is not an elector and therefore cannot contest elections. The High Court held that such a person loses the statutory rig…

The appellant, a society, challenged the applicability of various Central and State statutes to the Sundargarh district of Orissa, which had been declared a Scheduled Area under Clause 6 of the Fifth Schedule. It contended that non‑tribals could not settle, vote, or contest elections there and that all constituencies s…

The land in Rajasthan was allotted to Chunilal, a Scheduled Caste (SC) landless person, who was induced to sign a sale deed in favour of Bhadar Ram, an SC resident of Punjab, through fraud by Puran Singh, a non‑SC. The trial court held the sale void as it violated Section 42 of the Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955 and Secti…

The appellant, the State of Uttar Pradesh, challenged the High Court's order granting a compassionate appointment to Uttam Singh, whose father had served as a part‑time tubewell operator but was treated as a regular employee. The father had been appointed against a regular vacancy, served for 13 years, was transferred …

The writ petitions challenged the constitutional validity of the practice of appointing the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs) solely by the executive. The Supreme Court examined Article 324(2) and Constituent Assembly debates, concluding that Parliament was intended to enact a law gover…