Manipur High Court keeps Census 2027 on hold in state till April 30

The Census 2027 exercise in Manipur will stay suspended at least until April 30, 2027, after the Manipur High Court directed the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India to first decide representations raising concerns about counting people in the violence-hit state, Bar and Bench reported on Monday.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice M Sundar and Justice A Guneshwar Sharma passed the order on November 4 while disposing of a public interest litigation filed by the Kangleipak Students' Association (KSA) and International Peace and Social Advancement (IPSA), along with a connected petition by Shanta Singh Nahakpam.

What the court ordered

• The Census Commissioner must examine seven representations on their merits and pass a common, reasoned order by April 30, 2027.
• The notifications that keep the census in abeyance in Manipur will continue to operate, unchanged, until that date.
• The exercise will stay on hold for a further four weeks after the decision, so that anyone unhappy with it can go to court.
• Other individuals and organisations, including the petitioners, can file additional representations until November 25, 2026.
• The authorities may hold public consultations; if they decide against it, they must give reasons.
• The final order has to be sent to the petitioners' lawyers within five working days and posted on the websites of the Manipur government and the Census Commissioner.

Why the petitioners went to court

The petitioners argued that a census cannot be carried out properly while thousands of residents remain displaced by the ethnic violence that began in May 2023. Their representations questioned the accuracy of population records, how internally displaced persons would be identified and counted, and what it would mean to go ahead without settling these issues.

The proceedings also referred to resolutions passed unanimously by the Manipur Legislative Assembly on August 5, 2022 and March 1, 2024 seeking the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state.

Census already paused

The order formalises a pause that was already in place. On August 31 the Centre told the High Court it had decided to defer house-listing operations in Manipur, and the state government undertook not to begin the exercise scheduled for September 1, 2026. The Registrar General then issued notifications on September 5 and October 30 postponing the census in the state.

The October 30 notification fixed the national population count for Census 2027 from January 25, while keeping Manipur out until further notice. The court noted that all sides agreed the larger public interest would be served by considering the representations before the exercise goes ahead, and said any party aggrieved by the final decision can return to the High Court.