In Brief
The Supreme Court dismissed writ petitions challenging the exclusion of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana from a delimitation exercise that increased seats in the Jammu and Kashmir legislature. The petitioners argued this exclusion was arbitrary and violated their right to equal treatment, and that they had a legitimate expectation to delimitation under the AP Reorganisation Act. The Court held that Article 170(3) of the Constitution imposes an absolute constitutional bar on readjusting state legislative seats until after the 2026 census. This provision supersedes the statutory promise in the AP Reorganisation Act, which expressly states it operates "subject to" Article 170. The Court further held that delimitation in Jammu and Kashmir—a Union Territory governed by different constitutional rules—cannot be compared to States, which are bound by Article 170. The doctrine of legitimate expectation cannot override express constitutional mandates. The exclusion was therefore neither arbitrary nor discriminatory.
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