Gauhati High Court has directed the state government to cover all 36 constituencies in the Tiwa Autonomous Council elections, scheduled for early next year, as stipulated in the council act of 1995.

The state government had excluded six constituencies of the council in the 2010 and 2015 elections citing law-and-order problem. The constituencies are 26-Dimoria (reserved for ST), 32-Digaru (open), 33-Khetri (ST women), 34-Sonapur (open), 35-Ampri (open) and 36-Phong-Ari (open).

Challenging the exclusion, a writ petition was filed in the high court in 2015 jointly by Bishnu Ronghang, Dharmeswar Daloi, Raju Gorait, Prangdak Longhang and Ajit Khaklary.

In his order on Monday, Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi said, “The court is of the opinion that the reason cited for not holding the election in the six constituencies in 2010 and 2015 are absolutely untenable in law as the state machinery has to deal with any law and order issue which may arise at the time of holding the elections, that too, for a council existing in a geographical area covering parts of only three districts of the state.”

The Dimoria unit of the All Assam Tribal Sangha, Kamrup district committee of All Tiwa Students’ Union, Dimoria anchalik committee of All Bodo Students’ Union, Bodo Kachari Yuba Chatra Santha, Dimoria, Karbi Students Union and the Dimoria unit of Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association unanimously welcomed the ruling of the court. A union member said, “The court’s ruling has outlawed the arbitrary decision and conspiracy of Dispur.”

The groups alleged the state government was intentionally excluding these constituencies in an attempt to convert the council land into industrial land, to allegedly help corporate giants to grab more tribal land. “Dispur’s exclusion of these constituencies for two consecutive terms had deprived the people from accessing a number of welfare schemes,” he said.