Guwahati: Centre on Monday deferred the house-listing operation for Census 2027 in Manipur, hours after Manipur High Court directed state govt to keep the exercise in abeyance till Oct 12.The court recorded undertakings from both Centre and state govt that the house-listing exercise, scheduled to begin on Sept 1, would not commence. Centre said registrar general and census commissioner would issue a fresh notification formally deferring the exercise in Manipur.The decision came amid a long-standing demand by the majority of people in the state for implementation of National Register of Citizens (NRC) before census operations.A torchlight vigil demanding NRC updating before the census turned violent in Kakching district on Sunday evening. Hundreds marched for three km from Wabagai, Hiyanglam and nearby areas, raising “No NRC, No Census” slogans.Protesters opposed Census until internally displaced persons (IDPs) are resettled. Police stopped the march near Keirak Dam and asked protesters to return. The protesters allegedly pelted stones, prompting police to fire tear gas shells. A few protesters sustained injuries.Centre’s decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi. The meeting considered the demand from people in Manipur to defer the census exercise before implementation of NRC.Manipur chief minister’s secretariat said the decision to postpone the proposed census exercise in the state was taken after considering the “feelings and aspirations” of the people.Shah reviewed the prevailing situation in the state at the meeting attended by Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, CM Yumnam Khemchand Singh, Union home secretary Govind Mohan and other senior officials.Manipur High Court’s order was issued by a special division bench comprising Chief Justice M Sundar and Justice A Guneshwar Sharma on a PIL and writ petition seeking.In court, deputy solicitor general of India Kh Samarjit, appearing for Centre, told the bench that Registrar General would issue a notification suitably modifying the Jan 7, 2026 notification that had scheduled the census operations.State govt also gave an undertaking that it would not commence house-listing from Sept 1 under its March 22 notification. The notification will remain in abeyance pending Centre’s formal order postponing the operation.The proceedings stem from a PIL filed by Kangleipak Students’ Association (KSA) and International Peace and Social Advancement (IPSA), as well as a separate writ petition filed by Shanta Singh Nahakpam. The matters were tagged after the court found that they involved overlapping issues concerning the census, house-listing exercise and the demand for an NRC in Manipur.The petitioners had raised concerns over the timing of the census exercise and sought, among other things, that the census process be deferred pending consideration of NRC issue.The court’s earlier orders on Aug 25 and 28 had given Centre and state time to place their positions on record. On Aug 28, counsel for both govts sought a short adjournment, saying the issues were being examined at the highest level. The court then fixed Aug 31 as a peremptory hearing.The Monday order noted that the petitioners’ counsel expressed satisfaction, “for the present”, with the positions recorded by the court. High Court directed all parties to complete their pleadings before the next hearing on Oct 12, when the special bench will take up the matter again.Manipur govt meanwhile credited Centre’s decision to sustained engagement by civil society groups and BJP MLAs with central leaders.Chief minister Khemchand thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah and other central leaders for listening to the concerns of the people. He also acknowledged the role of 14 civil society organisations and a delegation of BJP MLAs that had recently campaigned in New Delhi for implementation of NRC.CM, however, appealed against bandh calls and general strikes, saying such actions would cause hardship to ordinary people. He urged civil society groups to continue dialogue with govt to address the state’s socio-political challenges.
