Manipur High Court Keeps Census 2027 on Hold Till April 2027: Displacement, Writ Powers and the Census
The Manipur High Court has directed that the Census 2027 exercise in Manipur stay on hold (kept "in abeyance") until 30 April 2027.
A division bench (a bench of two judges) of Justices M. Sundar and A. Guneshwar Sharma passed the order on 4 November 2026. It asked the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India to examine seven representations (formal written complaints) and pass a common, reasoned order by 30 April 2027.
The order came on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by two organisations, the Kangleipak Students' Association and International Peace and Social Advancement, along with a separate petition by an individual. They argued that counting people while thousands remain displaced by ethnic violence (the conflict that began in May 2023) could make the population figures inaccurate.
Earlier, on 31 August 2026, the Centre told the court it had deferred house-listing (the first phase of the census) in Manipur, and the state assured the court it would not start the work planned for 1 September 2026. The Census Commissioner then issued postponement notifications on 5 September and 30 October 2026.
The court also said the census will stay suspended for four more weeks after the decision, so that anyone unhappy with it can go back to court. New representations can be filed until 25 November 2026, and the authorities may hold public consultations (or must record reasons if they do not).
The proceedings also noted resolutions of the Manipur Legislative Assembly (5 August 2022 and 1 March 2024) asking for a National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state.
Census of India: Constitutional and Legislative Basis
The census is the official count of every person living in India, done roughly once every ten years. Along with the head count, it records details like age, sex, religion, language, education, work, migration and housing. Its numbers are used for almost every big decision of the state: seat sharing, reservations, welfare schemes and money transfers to states. That is why the accuracy of each state's count matters so much.
Census data shapes future delimitation of seats and the sharing of benefits, so groups in Manipur fear that a count taken while about 60,000 people were driven from their homes would lock in a distorted picture. The High Court has not cancelled the census; it has asked the Census Commissioner, who runs it under the Census Act, to answer the objections first.
Writ Jurisdiction of High Courts (Article 226)
Article 226 of the Constitution gives every High Court the power to issue orders, directions and writs to any person or authority, including the government, within its territory. A writ is a formal court order that tells a public authority to do, or stop doing, something. A High Court can use this power not only to protect Fundamental Rights but also "for any other purpose", meaning any legal right. This is why most PILs against state or central action in a state are filed in the High Court under Article 226.
The Manipur High Court used its writ powers on a PIL to keep a central exercise on hold. It did not decide the census question itself; it directed the authority to pass a reasoned order and kept the door open for a fresh challenge, a common pattern in Article 226 cases.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs): National and International Framework
Internally Displaced Persons, or IDPs, are people who have been forced to leave their homes but have not crossed an international border. They are still inside their own country. They may have fled violence, a flood or cyclone, or a dam or mine that took their land. Because they are still within their country, their own government is responsible for protecting and helping them.
The petitioners' core worry is the IDP counting problem: with tens of thousands of people still in relief camps or temporary homes, a census now could record them far from their real villages. The High Court has asked the Census Commissioner to decide how displaced people should be identified and counted before the exercise goes ahead in Manipur.
- Census 2027 in Manipur on hold till 30 April 2027, plus four weeks after the decision on representations
- Order dated 4 November 2026, division bench of Justices M. Sundar and A. Guneshwar Sharma
- 7 representations to be decided by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India; fresh representations allowed till 25 November 2026
- Centre deferred Manipur house-listing (told court on 31 August 2026); notifications on 5 September and 30 October 2026
- Census 2027: house-listing 1 April to 30 September 2026; reference date 00:00 hours, 1 March 2027 (1 October 2026 for snow-bound areas)
- Census is Entry 69 of the Union List; conducted under the Census Act, 1948
- Manipur violence began 3 May 2023; about 60,000 displaced at the peak; 28,899 IDPs as of 3 September 2026
- Article 226 writs: habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari, quo warranto