The Manipur High Court has deferred the Census 2027 and NRC hearing to August 31, with a special Division Bench set to consider petitions before house-listing begins.
Imphal, August 28: The High Court of Manipur on Friday deferred the hearing on petitions concerning the conduct of Census 2027 and the demand for implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state to August 31, giving the Centre and Manipur government a final short window to place their positions before the court.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice M. Sundar and Justice A. Guneshwar Sharma fixed the next hearing for 2 pm on Monday, with the court directing that the listing would be peremptory.
The proceedings concern PIL No. 14 of 2026, filed by the Kangleipak Students' Association (KSA) and International Peace and Social Advancement (IPSA), and WP(C) No. 623 of 2026, filed by Shanta Singh Nahakpam. The two matters were tagged by the High Court on August 25 because of overlapping issues concerning the Census and demographic concerns in Manipur.
During Friday's hearing, Deputy Solicitor General of India Kh. Samarjit and Manipur Advocate General Lenin Hijam sought a short accommodation from the court, indicating that the issues raised by the petitioners were being examined at the highest level of the respective governments.
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The government counsel sought time to return with a position that could address the issues before the court.
Senior Advocate Kh. Tarunkumar, appearing for the PIL petitioners, sought continuation of the existing position until the next hearing. The Advocate General, however, submitted that there was no immediate alteration in the ground situation because the house-listing operation under the March 22, 2026 notification was scheduled to begin only on September 1.
The bench accepted the request for a short adjournment and fixed the matters for Monday.
Following the hearing, the High Court issued an administrative notification constituting a Special Division Bench of Chief Justice M. Sundar and Justice A. Guneshwar Sharma to hear the connected matters on August 31 at 2 pm.
The bench has been constituted specifically to hear PIL No. 14 of 2026, WP(C) No. 623 of 2026 and the connected miscellaneous cases.
The August 25 order provides the background to the current proceedings. The High Court had then tagged the PIL and writ petition after finding that they raised overlapping issues and had directed the governments to place their stated positions before the court through affidavits or reports.
The PIL filed by KSA and IPSA seeks implementation of the NRC in Manipur.
During the August 25 proceedings, the petitioners' senior counsel referred to two inter-office communications and pointed to unanimous resolutions passed by the Manipur Legislative Assembly on August 5, 2022, and March 1, 2024, urging the Centre to introduce and enforce the NRC in the state. The court order records these submissions.
The petitioners have linked the NRC demand to concerns over illegal immigration and demographic changes in Manipur.
The issue has also become a major political and civil society demand in the state. In recent months, civil society organisations have publicly called for updating the NRC before Census 2027, arguing that demographic changes need to be addressed before the census and subsequent delimitation process.
The second matter, filed by Shanta Singh Nahakpam, challenges the Manipur government's March 22, 2026 census notification.
According to the High Court's August 25 order, the petition is based on a representation submitted by Nahakpam on April 13. The petitioner has raised concerns about conducting the census amid the continuing consequences of the ethnic conflict and displacement in Manipur since May 2023.
The petition raises the possibility of demographic data being affected by displacement and seeks safeguards concerning displaced residents, including recording their original residences and accounting for displacement while collecting census information.
The petitioner has also sought consideration of postponing census operations in areas affected by the conflict until conditions become more stable.
The timing of Monday's hearing is significant because house-listing operations for Census 2027 in Manipur are scheduled to begin on September 1.
The High Court's August 25 order records that the Union government had informed the court through a letter dated August 25 that a decision regarding a request to postpone the Census could be taken at the state level. The Manipur Advocate General, meanwhile, informed the bench that the state was examining whether that authority extended to house-listing operations beyond September 30, 2026.
The court had earlier directed the governments to submit clear and specific positions on the issues raised before it. With the house-listing exercise due to commence within days, the August 31 hearing is expected to determine how the court proceeds on the petitions and the interim requests before it.
