The Centre has formally deferred Census 2027 house-listing in Manipur, excluding the state from the exercise until further declaration amid NRC demands.
Imphal, Sept 5: The Centre has formally deferred the house-listing operations for Census 2027 in Manipur, issuing a Gazette notification on Saturday that excludes the state from the Census exercise “till further declaration.”
The notification, issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs through the Office of the Registrar General, India, on September 5, amends the Centre's January 7, 2026 notification concerning Census 2027. It inserts the words “(except the State of Manipur till further declaration)” after the phrase “in all States and Union territories in India”.
The order, numbered S.O. 4017(E), was issued under the Census Act, 1948 and the Census Rules, 1990. It formally gives effect to the Centre's decision to postpone the house-listing operation in Manipur, which had been scheduled to begin on September 1.
The notification comes five days after the Centre informed the Manipur High Court that it had decided to postpone the house-listing exercise in the state.
On August 31, the High Court was hearing petitions concerning the Census and demands for updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) before the population exercise. The petitions included a PIL filed by the Kangleipak Students' Association (KSA) and International Peace and Social Advancement (IPSA), along with a connected writ petition filed by Shanta Singh Nahakpam.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice M. Sundar and Justice A. Guneshwar Sharma recorded the Centre's position that the house-listing operation would be postponed and kept the exercise in abeyance until the next hearing on October 12.
According to reports on the proceedings, Deputy Solicitor General Kh. Samarjit informed the court, on instructions from the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, that the Centre had taken a decision to postpone the operation and would issue a formal notification modifying the January 7 notification.
The Manipur government subsequently informed the court that it would not commence the house-listing operation and would keep its March 22 notification on the Census exercise in abeyance pending the Centre's formal order.
The court directed that the house-listing operation remain in abeyance until October 12, when the matter is scheduled to come up again.
Manipur had earlier notified September house-listing
Before the latest developments, the Manipur government had formally notified that the house-listing operations for Census 2027 would be conducted from September 1 to September 30, 2026, with self-enumeration scheduled from August 17 to August 31.
A March 22 notification issued by the State Home Department had republished the Centre's January 7 notification and declared the 30-day house-listing period for Manipur.
Preparations subsequently faced disruptions. In August, house-listing and Housing Census training in Imphal East, Imphal West, Kakching and Jiribam was deferred amid law-and-order concerns, while training continued in Churachandpur and Pherzawl.
NRC-before-Census demand at centre of dispute
The deferment follows sustained demands from sections of civil society in Manipur for the NRC to be updated before the Census.
The petitions before the High Court sought, among other things, an NRC update using 1951 as the base year, along with measures concerning alleged illegal immigration. Reports on the August 31 proceedings said the petitioners argued that citizen identification should precede the Census and any subsequent delimitation exercise.
The issue subsequently entered the Assembly proceedings.
On September 2, the Manipur Legislative Assembly reaffirmed its earlier resolutions of August 5, 2022, and March 1, 2024, and urged the Government of India to update the NRC in Manipur before conducting the Census. The resolution, moved by Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh, did not specify 1951 as the base year.
During the Assembly debate, opposition members pressed for the inclusion of 1951 as the base year. The government resolution ultimately retained the broader wording calling for an NRC update before the Census.
Formal notification answers demand for official order
The Centre's September 5 notification is significant because the deferment had previously been announced through government statements and communicated before the High Court, but a formal Central Gazette notification was still awaited.
On September 2, Chief Minister Khemchand had stated in the Assembly that the official notification would be issued shortly. Opposition Leader Okram Ibobi had pointed out during the proceedings that no formal notification from the Ministry of Home Affairs had yet been issued.
The latest Gazette notification now provides that formal Central government record.
However, the notification does not announce a new date for the Census or house-listing exercise in Manipur. Instead, it specifically excludes Manipur from the existing notification until a further declaration.
What happens next
The immediate legal timeline remains linked to the Manipur High Court proceedings. The court has listed the connected matters for October 12, 2026, with the house-listing operation remaining in abeyance in the interim.
The Central notification also does not itself announce an NRC exercise, specify 1951 as an NRC cut-off year, or provide a timetable for updating the NRC. It only formally changes the applicability of the January 7 Census notification to exclude Manipur until further declaration.
The development therefore resolves one immediate question — whether the deferment has been formally notified by the Centre — while leaving the larger question of an NRC update before the Census open.
For civil society groups that have been demanding an NRC first, the focus is now likely to shift from securing a deferment of the Census to pressing the government for a concrete decision on the NRC and the proposed 1951 base year.
