Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin announced an all-party meeting on March 5 to discuss the impact of the Centre’s proposed delimitation exercise, which he claims could reduce his state’s Lok Sabha constituencies from 39 to 31. He urged all political parties to oppose the move because it unfairly penalises southern states that have successfully controlled the growth of their populations and fared better on human development indices.

Delimitation is the process of redrawing the boundaries of constituencies. The composition of the current Lok Sabha is based on the 1971 census. According to the 84th Amendment Act of 2001, the constituency boundaries were frozen until the first census after 2026, which would be due in 2031.

Stalin warned that delimitation threatens Tamil Nadu’s political rights. He wrote to several political parties in the state emphasising the need for a fair and transparent approach to fixing parliamentary representation. The Tamil Nadu Assembly had passed a resolution against the proposal in February 2024, fearing that it would give more weight in the Lok Sabha to northern states.

Read on.


Why India needs concessionary federalism to address the grievances of its southern states

A Delhi court has sentenced former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar to life imprisonment for the murder of two men during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in the capital. Earlier this month, the court found Kumar guilty of inciting a mob that killed Jaswant Singh and his son, Tarun Deep Singh, in Saraswati Vihar on November 1 that year.

Kumar was arrested in 2021, and the case, originally closed in 1994, was reopened in 2015. The court rejected the death penalty on the grounds that “the convict has roots in the society and the possibility of his reformation and rehabilitation are material considerations which…tilt the scales in favour of sentence for life imprisonment”.

This is Kumar’s second conviction related to the riots that had broken out in Delhi on October 31, 1984, after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. Mobs, allegedly helped by some Congress leaders, had attacked Sikhs and torched their homes.

Kumar is already serving a life sentence in another case. The Delhi High Court had convicted him in 2018 for murder and inciting violence during the anti-Sikh violence, leading to his resignation from the Congress. Read on.

1984 anti-Sikh violence: As it convicts Sajjan Kumar, court sees pattern in attacks on minorities

The Supreme Court has reinstated Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Sunil Kumar Singh as a member of the Bihar Legislative Council and stayed an Election Commission notification for bye-elections to his seat. Singh was expelled in February 2024 for unruly behaviour and allegedly defamatory remarks about Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

The court ruled the expulsion was excessive and violated Singh’s rights, as well as that of his electorate, but condemned his conduct as “abhorrent”. The court converted his expulsion into a seven-month suspension, deeming it sufficient punishment for his misconduct.

In its judgement, the bench asserted that judicial reviews of legislative punishments under Article 212 of the Constitution, which states that the validity of proceedings in the legislature cannot be questioned by a court, do not encroach on the legislative domain as disproportionate punishments undermine democratic values.

Singh had argued his punishment was disproportionate compared to a colleague’s lighter suspension for similar remarks. Read on.

A Comptroller and Auditor General report tabled in the Delhi Assembly has stated that the Aam Aadmi Party’s now-scrapped 2021-’22 liquor policy caused a Rs 2,002 crore loss to the public exchequer. The Aam Aadmi Party government has claimed it introduced the policy to privatise liquor sales, aiming to curb the liquor mafia, boost revenue and improve consumer experience.

However, Delhi’s lieutenant governor ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into the scheme in 2022, alleging financial benefits for private vendors linked to AAP leaders. The policy was soon withdrawn and in the months that followed, central agencies arrested AAP leaders including Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia.

The report highlighted flaws in the policy’s implementation, which it said ignored expert recommendations. The Bharatiya Janata Party has accused Delhi’s previous AAP government of withholding the report, while AAP leader Atishi defended the policy, blaming the Centre’s interference for its failure. Read on.

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