Representation of the People Act, 1950

This Act may be called the Representation of the People Act, 1950.

3 [***] In this Act unless the context otherwise requires, - (a) "article" means an article of the Constitution; (b) "Assembly constituency" means a constituency provided 4[by law] for the purpose of elections to the Legislative Assembly of a State; (c) "Council constituency" means a constituency provided 5[by law] for the purpose of elections to the Legislative Council of a State; 6 [***] (d) "Election Commission" means the Election Commission appointed by the President under article 324; (e) "order" means an order published in the Official Gazette; (f) "parliamentary constituency" means a constituency provided 7[by law] for the purpose of elections to the House of the People; 8 [***] (g) "person" does not include a body of persons; (h) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; 9 [( i ) "State" includes a Union territory;] (j) "State Government", in relation to a Union territory, means the administrator thereof.

The allocation of seats to the States in the House of the People and the number of seats, if any, to be reserved for the Scheduled Castes and for the Scheduled Tribes of each State shall be as shown in the First Schedule.

parliamentary constituencies 12 [***] 13 [(2) All the seats in the House of the People allotted to the States under section 3 shall be seats to be filled by persons chosen by direct election from parliamentary constituencies in the States.] (3) Every parliamentary constituency referred to in sub-section (2) shall be a single-member constituency. (4) Every State to which only one seat is allotted under section 3 shall form one parliamentary constituency. 14 [(5) Save as provided in sub-section (4), the extent of all parliamentary constituencies except the parliamentary constituencies in the Union territory of Arunachal Pradesh shall be as determined by the orders of the Delimitation Commission made under the provisions of the Delimitation Act, 1972 (76 of 1972) and the extent of the parliamentary constituencies in the Union territory of Arunachal Pradesh shall be as determined by the order of the Election Commission under the provisions of the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963 (20 of 1963).]

Repealed by the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1956]

Repealed by the Adaptation of Laws (No. 2) Order, 1956]

constituencies (1) 16[Subject to the provisions of 17[sub-sections (1A) and (1B)]] the total number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of each State specified in the Second Schedule, to be filled by persons chosen by direct election from assembly constituencies, and the number of seats, if any, to be reserved for the Scheduled Castes and for the Scheduled Tribes of the State, shall be as shown in that Schedule: Provided that for the period referred to in clause (2) of article 371A, 16[subject to the provisions of 17[sub-sections (1A) and (1B)]] the total number of seats allotted to the Legislative Assembly of the State of Nagaland shall be 18[fifty-two], of which– (a) 19[twelve seats] shall be allocated to the Tuensang district and shall be filled by persons chosen by the members of the regional council, referred to in that article, from amongst themselves in such manner as the Governor, after consulting that council may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify, and (b) the remaining forty seats shall be filled by persons chosen by direct election from assembly constituencies in the rest of the State. 20 [(1A) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the total number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of the State of Sikkim , to be constituted at any time after the commencement of the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1980, to be filled by persons chosen by direct election from assembly constituencies shall be thirty-two, of which- (a) twelve seats shall be reserved for Sikkimese of Bhutia-Lepcha origin; (b) two seats shall be reserved for the Scheduled Castes of that State; and (c) one seat shall be reserved for the Sanghas referred to in section 25A. Explanation- In this sub-section " Bhutia " includes Chumbipa , Dopthapa , Dukpa , Kagatey , Sherpa , Tribetan , Tromopa and Yolma .] 21 [(1B) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), in the Legislative Assemblies of the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya , Mizoram and Nagaland , to be constituted at any time after the commencement of the Representation of the People (Third Amendment) Act, 1987,- (a) thirty-nine seats shall be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assembly of the State of Arunachal Pradesh; (b) fifty-five seats shall be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assembly of the State of Meghalaya ; (c) thirty-nine seats shall be reserved for the Schedules Tribes in the Legislative Assembly of the State of Mizoram ; and (d) fifty-nine seats shall be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assembly of the State of Nagaland .] (2) Every assembly constituency referred to in 22[sub-section (1) or sub-section (1A)] shall be a single-member constituency. 23 [(3) 24[The extent of each assembly constituency in all the States and Union territories except the assembly constituencies in the State of Sikkim and] in the Union territory of Arunachal Pradesh shall be as determined by the orders of the Delimitation Commission made under the provisions of the Delimitation Act, 1972 (76 of 1972) 25[the extent of each assembly constituency in the State of Sikkim shall be as provided for in the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 1976, as amended by section 4 of the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1980] and the extent of each assembly constituencies in the Union territory of Arunachal Pradesh shall be as determined by the order of the Election Commission made under the provisions of the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963 (20 of 1963).]

(1) As soon as may be, after all the orders referred to in sub-section (5) of section 4 or in sub-section (3) of section 7 relating to the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies have been made by the Delimitation Commission or, as the case may be, the Election Commission and published in the Official Gazette, the Election Commission shall, after making such amendments as appear to it to be necessary for bringing up-to-date the description of the extent of the parliamentary and assembly constituencies as given in such orders, consolidate all such orders into one single order to be known as 36[the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 1976] and shall send authentic copies of that Order to the Central Government and to the Government of each State having a Legislative Assembly ; and thereupon that order shall supersede all the orders referred to in sub-section (5) of section 4 or in sub-section (3) of section 7 and shall have the force of law and shall not be called in question in any court. (2) As soon as may be, after the said Order is received by the Central Government or by the Government of a State, that Government shall cause it to be laid before the House of the People or, as the case may be, the Legislative Assembly of the State. 30 [(3) The consolidation under sub-section (1) of the orders referred to in sub-section (5) of section 4 or, as the case may be, sub-section (3) of section 7 shall not, as provided in sub-section (5) of section 10 of the Delimitation Act, 1972 (76 of 1972), affect the representation in, and the territorial constituencies of, the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of the State existing on the date of publication in the Gazette of India of any such order or orders as may be relevant.]

Order up-to-date (1) The Election Commission may, from time to time, by notification published in the Gazette of India and in the Official Gazette of the State concerned,- (a) correct any printing mistake in 27[the Delimination of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 1966, or, as the case may be, the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 1976], or any error arising therein from inadvertent slip or omission; 28 [( aa ) make such amendments in the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 1976 as appear to it to be necessary or expedient for consolidating with that Order any notification or order relating to delimitation of parliamentary or assembly constituencies (including reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes in such constituencies) issued under any Central Act;] (b) where the boundaries or name of any district or any territorial division mentioned in the Order are or is altered, make such amendments as appear to it to be necessary or expedient for bringing the Order up-to-date. (2) Every notification under this section shall be laid as soon as may be after it is issued, before the House of the People and the Legislative Assembly of the State concerned.

(1) The allocation of seats in the Legislative Councils of the States having such Councils shall be as shown in the Third Schedule. (2) In the Legislative Council of each State specified in the first column of the Third Schedule, there shall be the number of seats specified in the second column thereof opposite to that State, and of those seats,- (a) the numbers specified in the third, fourth and fifth columns shall be the numbers of seats to be filled by persons elected, respectively, by the electorates referred to in sub-clauses (a), (b) and (c) of clause (3) of article 171 ; (b) the number specified in the sixth column shall be the number of seats to be filled by persons elected by the members of the Legislative Assembly of the State from amongst persons who are not members of that Assembly ; and (c) the number specified in the seventh column shall be the number of seats to be filled by persons nominated by the Governor 31[***] of the State in accordance with the provisions of clause (5) of article 171. 32 [***]

As soon as may be after the commencement of this Act, the President shall, by order determine- (a) the constituencies into which each State having a Legislative Council shall be divided for the purpose of elections to that Council under each of the sub-clauses (a), (b) and (c) of clause (3) of article 171; (b) the extent of each constituency; and (c) the number of seats allotted to each constituency. Provisions as to order delimiting constituencies

33 [(1)] The President may, from time to time, after consulting the Election Commission, by order, alter or amend any order made by him under 34[***] section 11. 33 [(2) An order under sub-section (1) may contain provisions for the allocation of any member representing any council constituency immediately before the making of the order to any constituency delimited a new or altered by the order and for such other incidental and consequential matters as the President may deem necessary.]

35 [***] (3) Every order made under 36[***] section 11 or section 12 shall be laid before Parliament as soon as may be after it is made, and shall be subject to such modifications as Parliament may make on a motion made within twenty days from the date on which the order is so laid.

In this Part, Unless the context otherwise requires,- (a) "constituency" means an Assembly constituency 46[***]; (b) "qualifying date", in relation to the preparation or revision of every electoral roll under this Part, means 47[the 1st day of January] of the year in which it is so prepared or revised.] 48 [Provided that "qualifying date", in relation to the preparation or revision of every electoral roll under this Part in the year 1989, shall be 1st day of April, 1989.]

For every constituency there shall be an electoral roll which shall be prepared in accordance with the provisions of this Act under the superintendence, direction and control of the Election Commission.

(1) A person shall be disqualified for registration in an electoral roll if he- (a) is not a citizen of India; or (b) is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court; or (c) is for the time being disqualified from voting under the provisions of any law relating to corrupt 47[***] practices and other offences in connection with elections. (2) The name of any person who becomes so disqualified after registration shall forthwith be struck off the electoral roll in which it is included: 1 [Provided that the name of any person struck off the electoral roll of a constituency by reason of a disqualification under clause (c) of sub-section (1) shall forthwith be re-instated in that roll if such disqualification is, during the period such roll is in force, removed under any law authorizing such removal.]

constituency No person shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll for more than one constituency 49[***].

constituency No person shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll for any constituency more than once.

Subject to the foregoing provisions of this Part, every person who: (a) is not less than 51[eighteen years] of age on the qualifying date, and (b) is ordinarily resident in a constituency, shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll for that constituency.]

52 [(1) A person shall not be deemed to be ordinarily resident in a constituency on the ground only that he owns, or is in possession of, a dwelling house therein. (1A) A person absenting himself temporarily from his place of ordinary residence shall not by reason thereof cease to be ordinarily resident therein. (1B) A member of Parliament or of the Legislative of a State shall not during the term of his office cease to be ordinarily resident in the constituency in the electoral roll of which he is registered as an elector at the time of his election as such member, by reason of his absence from that constituency in connection with his duties as such member.] (2) A person who is a patient in any establishment maintained wholly or mainly for the reception and treatment of persons suffering from mental illness or mental defectiveness, or who is detained in prison or other legal custody at any place, shall not by reason thereof be deemed to be ordinarily resident therein. 53 [(3) Any person having a service qualification shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident on any date in the constituency in which, but for his having such service qualification, he would have been ordinarily resident on that date.] (4) Any person holding any office in India declared by the President in consultation the Election Commission to be an office to which the provisions of this sub-section apply, 54[***] shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident 55[***] on any date in the constituency in which, but for the holding of any such office 56[***], he would have been ordinarily resident 57[***] on that date58. (5) The statement of any such person as is referred to in sub-section (3) or sub-section (4) made in the prescribed form and verified in the prescribed manner, that 40[but for his having the service qualification] or but for his holding any such office 59[***] as is referred to in sub-section (4) he would have been ordinarily resident in a specified place 55[***] on any date, shall, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, be 40[accepted as correct]. (6) The wife of any such person as is referred to in sub-section (3) or sub-section (4) shall, if she be ordinarily residing with such person 60[***] be deemed to be ordinarily resident 61[***] in the constituency specified by such person under sub-section (5). 62 [(7) If in any case a question arises as to where a person is ordinarily resident at any relevant time, the question shall be determined with reference to all the facts of the case and to such rules as may be made in this behalf by the Central Government in consultation with the Election Commission. (8) In sub-sections (3) and (5) "service qualification" means:- (a) being a member of the armed forces of the Union; or (b) being a member of a force to which the provisions of the Army Act, 1950 (46 of 1950), have been made applicable whether with or without modifications; or (c) being a member of an armed police force of a State, who is serving outside that State; or (d) being a person who is employed under the Government of India, in a post outside India.]

(1) The electoral roll for each constituency shall be prepared in the prescribed manner by reference to the qualifying date and shall come into force immediately upon its final publication in accordance with the rules made under this Act. 64 [(2)] The said electoral roll:- (a) shall, unless otherwise directed by the Election Commission for reasons to be recorded in writing, be revised in the prescribed manner by reference to the qualifying date:- ( i ) before each general election to the House of the People or to the Legislative Assembly of a State; and (ii) before each bye-election to fill a casual vacancy in a seat allotted to the constituency; and (b) shall be revised in any year in the prescribed manner by reference to the qualifying date if such revision has been directed by the Election Commission: Provided that if the electoral roll is not revised as aforesaid, the validity or continued operation of the said electoral roll shall not thereby be affected.] (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2), the Election Commission may at any time, for reasons to be recorded, direct a special revision of the electoral roll for any constituency or part of a constituency in such manner as it may think fit : Provided that subject to the other provisions of this Act, the electoral roll for the constituency, as in force at the time of the issue of any such direction, shall continue to be in force until the completion of the special revision so directed.

If the electoral registration officer for a constituency, on application made to him or on his own motion, is satisfied after such inquiry as he thinks fit, that any entry in the electoral roll of the constituency :- (a) is erroneous or defective in any particular, (b) should be transposed to another place in the roll on the ground that the person concerned has changed his place of ordinary residence within the constituency, or (c) should be deleted on the ground that the person concerned is dead or has ceased to be ordinarily resident in the constituency or is otherwise not entitled to be registered in that roll, the electoral registration officer shall, subject to such general or special directions, if any, as may be given by the Election Commission in this behalf, amend, transpose or delete the entry: Provided that before taking any action on any ground under clause (a) or clause (b) or any action under clause (c) on the ground that the person concerned has ceased to be ordinarily resident in the constituency or that he is otherwise not entitled to be registered in the electoral roll of that constituency, the electoral registration officer shall give the person concerned a reasonable opportunity of being heard in respect of the action proposed to be taken in relation to him.]

rolls (1) Any person whose name is not included in the electoral roll of a constituency may apply to the electoral registration officer for the inclusion of his name in that roll. (2) The electoral registration officer shall, if satisfied that the applicant is entitled to be registered in the electoral roll, direct his name to be included therein: Provided that if the applicant is registered in the electoral roll of any other constituency, the electoral registration officer shall inform the electoral registration officer of that other constituency and that officer shall, on receipt of the information, strike off the applicant's name from that roll. (3) No amendment, transposition or deletion of any entry shall be made under section 22 and no direction for the inclusion of a name in the electoral roll of a constituency shall be given under this section, after the last date for making nominations for an election in that constituency or in the parliamentary constituency within which that constituency is comprised and before the completion of that election.]

An appeal shall lie within such time and in such manner as may be prescribed:- (a) to the chief electoral officer, from any order of the electoral registration officer under section 22 or section 23 68[***] 68 [***]

Every application under section 22 or section 23 and every appeal under section 24 shall be accompanied by the prescribed fee which shall, in no case, be refunded.]

constituencies- Repealed by the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1956]

constituencies (1) In this section, "local authorities' constituency", "graduates' constituency" and "teachers' constituency" mean a constituency for the purpose of elections to a Legislative Council under sub-clause (a), sub-clause (b) and sub-clause (c), respectively, of clause (3) of article 171. 70 (2) For the purpose of elections to the Legislative Council of a State in any local authorities' constituency:- (a) the electorate shall consist of members of such local authorities exercising jurisdiction in any place or area within the limits of that constituency as are specified in relation to that State in the Fourth Schedule; (b) every member of each such local authority within a local authorities' constituency shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll for that constituency; (c) the electoral registration officer for every local authority’s constituency shall maintain in his office in the prescribed manner and form the electoral roll for that constituency corrected up-to-date; (d) in order to enable the electoral registration officer to maintain the electoral roll corrected up-to-date, the chief executive officer of every local authority (by whatever designation such officer may be known) shall immediately inform the electoral registration officer about every change in the membership of that local authority; and the electoral registration officer shall, on receipt of the information, strike off from the electoral roll the names of persons who have ceased to be, and include therein the names of persons who have become, members of that local authority; and (e) the provisions of sections 15, 16, 18, 22 and 23 shall apply in relation to local authorities' constituencies as they apply in relation to assembly constituencies.] (3) For the purpose of elections to the Legislative Council of a State in the graduates' constituencies and the teachers' constituencies, the State Government concerned may, with the concurrence of the Election Commission, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify :- (a) the qualifications which shall be deemed to be equivalent to that of a graduate of a university in the territory of India, and (b) the educational institutions within the State not lower in standard than that of a secondary school. 71 (4) The provisions of sections 15, 16, 18, 21, 22 and 23 shall apply in relation to graduates' constituencies and teachers' constituencies as they apply in relation to assembly constituencies.] (5) Subject to the foregoing provisions of this section,- 72 [***] 73 [(a)] every person who 74[is] ordinarily resident in a graduates' constituency and has, for at least three years 75[before the qualifying date], been either a graduate of a university in the territory of India or in possession of any of the qualifications specified under clause (a) of sub-section (3) by the State Government concerned, shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll for that constituency; and 76 [(b)] every person who 74[is] ordinarily resident in a teachers' constituency, and has, within the six years immediately 75[before the qualifying date] for a total period of at least three years, been engaged in teaching in any of the educational institutions specified under clause (b) of sub-section (3) by the State Government concerned shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll for that constituency. 77 [(6) For the purposes of sub-sections (4) and (5) the qualifying date shall be the 1st day of November of the year in which the preparation or revision of the electoral roll is commenced.]

(1) The Central Government may, after consulting the Election Commission, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act. (2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:– 96 (a) the determination of ordinary residence under sub-section (7) of section 20; ( aa ) the particulars to be entered in the electoral rolls;] (b) the preliminary publication of electoral rolls 97[***]; (c) the manner in which and the time within which claims and objections as to entries in electoral rolls may be preferred; 98 [***] (e) the manner in which notices of claims or objections shall be published; (f) the place, date and time at which claims or objections shall be heard and the manner in which claims or objections shall be beard and disposed of; (g) the final publication of electoral rolls ; 99 [(h) the revision and correction of electoral rolls and inclusion of names therein;] ( i ) any other matter required to be prescribed by this Act. 23 [(3) Every rule made by the Central Government under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be ; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.]

Every local authority in a State shall, when so requested by the chief electoral officer of the State, make available to any electoral registration officer such staff as may be necessary for the performance of any duties in connection with the preparation and revision of electoral rolls.]

No civil court shall have jurisdiction :- (a) to entertain or adjudicate upon any question whether any person is or is not entitled to be registered in an electoral roll for a constituency; or (b) to question the legality of any action taken by or under the authority of an electoral registration officer, or of any decision given by any authority appointed under this Act for the revision of any such roll.

If any person makes in connection with :- (a) the preparation, revision or correction of an electoral roll, or (b) the inclusion or exclusion of any entry in or from an electoral roll, a statement or declaration in writing which is false and which he either knows or believes to be false or does not believe to be true, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.]

preparation, etc., of electoral rolls (1) If any electoral registration officer, assistant electoral registration officer or other person required by or under this Act to perform any official duty in connection with the preparation, revision or correction of an electoral roll or the inclusion or exclusion of any entry in or from that roll, is without reasonable cause, guilty of any act or omission in breach of such official duty, he shall be punishable 103[with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three months but which may extend to two years and with fine]. (2) No suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against any such officer or other person for damages in respect of any such act or omission as aforesaid. (3) No court shall take cognizance of any offence punishable under sub-section (1) unless there is a complaint made by order of, or under authority from, the Election Commission or the Chief Electoral Officer of the State concerned.]