Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991
No: 1 Dated: Jan, 02 1992
Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991
(Act No 1 of 1992)
Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2023
An Act to supplement the provisions of the Constitution relating to the Legislative Assembly and a Council of Ministers for the National Capital Territory of Delhi and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
BE it enacted by Parliament in the Forty-second Year of the Republic of India as follows:—
PART I
PRELIMINARY
1. Short title and commencement.—(1) This Act may be called the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991.
(2) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint:
Provided that different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act and any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference to the coming into force of that provision.
2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) “article” means an article of the Constitution;
(b) “assembly constituency” means a constituency provided under this Act for the purpose of elections to the Legislative Assembly;
(c) “Capital” means the National Capital Territory of Delhi;
(d) “Election Commission” means the Election Commission referred to in article 324;
(e) “Legislative Assembly” means the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi;
(f) “Scheduled Castes”, in relation to the Capital, means such castes, races or tribes or parts of or groups within such castes, races or tribes as are deemed under article 341 to be Scheduled Castes in relation to the Capital.
PART II
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
3. Legislative Assembly and its composition.—(1) The total number of seats in the Legislative Assembly to be filled by persons chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies shall be seventy.
(2) For the purpose of elections to the Legislative Assembly, the Capital shall be divided into single-member assembly constituencies in accordance with the provisions of Part III in such manner that the population of each of the constituencies shall, so far as practicable, be the same throughout the Capital.
(3) Seats shall be reserved for the Scheduled Castes in the Legislative Assembly, and the number of seats so reserved shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total number of seats in the Assembly as the population of the Scheduled Castes in the Capital bears to the total population of the Capital and the provisions of article 334 shall apply to such reservation.
Explanation.—In this section, the expression “population” means the population as ascertained in the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published:
Provided that the reference in this Explanation to the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published shall, until the relevant figures for the first census taken after the year 2026 have been published, be construed as a reference to the 2001 census:
Provided further that any readjustment in the division of the Capital into territorial constituencies by the Delimitation Commission under the Delimitation Act, 2002 (33 of 2002) on the basis of 2001 census shall take effect from such date as the Central Government may, by order, published in the Official Gazette, specify and until such readjustment takes effect, any election to the Legislative Assembly may be held on the basis of the territorial constituencies existing before such readjustment.
4. Qualifications for membership of Legislative Assembly.—A person shall not be qualified to be chosen to fill a seat in the Legislative Assembly unless he—
(a) is a citizen of India and makes and subscribes before some person authorised in that behalf by the Election Commission an oath or affirmation according to the form set out for the purpose in the Schedule;
(b) is not less than twenty-five years of age; and
(c) possesses such other qualifications as may be prescribed in that behalf by or under any law made by parliament.