Plea to halt Goa ST seat readjustment; HC reserves order

PANAJI
The constitutional validity of Goa’s law to readjust Assembly constituencies for Scheduled Tribe (ST) representation has been challenged before the High Court of Bombay at Goa, which has reserved its order for Thursday on a plea to halt the exercise until the petition receives a final hearing.
Petitioner Edwin Fernandes sought an interim stay on the implementation and operation of the Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Act, 2025. He also urged the court to restrain the respondents from taking any administrative steps to readjust Assembly constituencies under the legislation.
A key concern raised in the petition is that the Census Commissioner of India could notify the census figures before the court decides the challenge. Fernandes argued that such notification could attract a legal bar on subsequently questioning the census.
The petition has challenged the provision that allows the Census Commissioner to estimate Goa’s ST population and use the estimate to readjust Assembly constituencies, modify delimitation orders and alter the extent of representation in the Legislative Assembly.
Fernandes argued that the authorities must base the determination of the ST population for constituency readjustment on either the published figures of the 2001 Census or those of the 2026 Census once they become available.
The court on Tuesday issued a fresh notice and listed the matter for Wednesday after Fernandes pressed for interim relief to restrain the Census Commissioner from notifying the census pending the disposal of the petition. The matter was subsequently reserved for order on the interim relief for Thursday.