&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Manipur census deferred till October 12 after high court order amidst NRC demands")
The Manipur High Court on Monday (Aug 31) directed that the Census exercise in the state be kept in abeyance until further orders, a day before the house-listing operation was scheduled to begin on September 1, following sustained protests from civil society groups demanding the process be linked to an updated National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The court’s special bench, comprising Chief Justice M Sundar and Justice A Guneswar Sharma, stated: “In the light of stated positions of respondents (Central and State Governments) the house listing operation of Census of India, 2027 scheduled to commence tomorrow (Sept 1) shall be kept in abeyance by State Government until next listing, which will be on October 12.”
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The petitions
The bench heard a Public Interest Litigation filed by the Kangleipak Students’ Association (KSA) and a separate writ petition filed by Shanta Nahakpam, convenor of a coalition of 14 civil society organisations. According to Nahakpam, the petitions sought directions for updating the NRC using 1951 as the base year, and for addressing concerns over alleged illegal migration before the Census proceeds.
During Monday’s hearing, lawyers representing the Centre and the Manipur government informed the court that the Census exercise would remain deferred, Nahakpam said.
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Migration concerns cited
The petitions raise concerns over alleged illegal migration from neighbouring Myanmar and its potential impact on the state’s indigenous population. Nahakpam said civil society groups had been campaigning for four to five months for the Census to be postponed until alleged illegal immigrants are identified and deported, adding that conducting delimitation while these concerns remain unresolved “would not ensure justice for Manipur’s indigenous communities.”
He said the groups turned to legal intervention after concluding that agitation alone would not resolve the issue.
CSOs push for tripartite talks
Separately, a delegation of Manipur civil society organisations had urged the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to convene tripartite talks involving the Union government, the state government, and representatives of different communities before the Census proceeds, arguing that citizenship-related concerns must be resolved first for the exercise to gain acceptance across the state.
What’s next
The next hearing in the matter has been scheduled for October 12, 2026, the same date set for the next house-listing operation, according to the court’s order.
The development comes amid heightened sensitivities in Manipur around demography, citizenship and delimitation, following prolonged ethnic tensions in the state since 2023.
