JUDGMENT These Writ Petitions are connected and therefore, I am disposing of these Writ Petitions by a common judgment. A common question is raised in these Writ Petitions. First, I will narrate the facts in these Writ Petitions separately. 1. W.P.(C) No.17267 of 2025 The petitioner in this Writ Petition is residing in ward No.12 of Vadanappally Grama Panchayat of Thrissur District, and he belongs to the Scheduled Caste community. The 2 nd respondent vide Ext.P1 Government Order revised the number of seats reserved for the Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe category (for short ‘SC/ST’). It is submitted that, as per Ext. P1, the reservation quotas for SC and ST were reduced based on the 2011 Census data. According to the petitioner, this step constitutes a blatant disregard for the socio-economic disparities and historical injustices that were faced by the SC/ST communities. The respondent Panchayat in the previous election had reserved three seats for SC/ST reservation based on the 2011 population census, and thereafter, no Census was conducted in the said panchayat. Now, the number of seats reserved for SC/ST is reduced without conducting a Census, is the grievance. Aggrieved by the same, the above Writ Petition is filed. 2. W.P.(C) No.17277 of 2025 The petitioner in this Writ Petition is residing in ward No.6 of Valappad Grama Panchayath in Thrissur District, and she belongs to the SC community. According to the petitioner, the 2 nd respondent vide Ext.P1 Government Order revised the number of seats reserved for the SC/ST category, and as per Ext.P1, the reservation quotas for SC/ST were reduced based on the 2011 Census data. It is submitted that no recent Census data is available to substantiate such claims. It is submitted that the respondent Panchayat in the previous election had reserved three seats for SC/ST reservation based on the population Census. The attempt of the respondents to reduce the number of seats reserved for SC/ST to one instead of three is the grievance of the petitioner. Aggrieved by the same, the above Writ Petition is filed. 3. W.P.(C) No.17321 of 2025 The petitioner in this Writ Petition is residing in ward No.3 of Engandiyoor Grama Panchayath of Thrissur District, and he belongs to the SC community. The 2 nd respondent, vide Ext. P1, Government Order, revised the number of seats reserved for the SC/ST category. Aggrieved by the same, the above Writ Petition is filed. 3. W.P.(C) No.17321 of 2025 The petitioner in this Writ Petition is residing in ward No.3 of Engandiyoor Grama Panchayath of Thrissur District, and he belongs to the SC community. The 2 nd respondent, vide Ext. P1, Government Order, revised the number of seats reserved for the SC/ST category. It is submitted that the respondent Panchayat had reserved four seats for SC/ST in the previous election based on the population Census, and now this reservation has been reduced without conducting a new Census. Aggrieved by the same, the above Writ Petition is filed. 4. W.P.(C) No.17352 of 2025 The petitioner in this case is residing in Ward No.2 of Thalikulam Grama Panchayath in Thrissur District, and he belongs to the SC community. As per Ext.P1 Government Order, the reservation quota for SC/ST has been reduced to one seat instead of three in the earlier election, is the grievance of the petitioner. Aggrieved by the same, the above Writ Petition is filed. 5. W.P.(C) No.17357 of 2025 The petitioner in this Writ Petition is residing in ward No.8 of Nattika Grama Panchayat of Thrissur District, and he belongs to the SC community. The 2 nd respondent vide Ext.P1 Government Order reduced the reservation quotas for SC/ST under the pretext of demographic fluctuations as per the Census, is the submission. It is submitted that, in the previous election, three seats were reserved for SC/ST, and now it has been reduced. Aggrieved by the same, the above Writ Petition is filed. 6. W.P.(C) No.35938 of 2025 The petitioner in this Writ Petition is the President of the Block Committee of the Indian National Congress, which is a registered political party. It is submitted that only 68 families and 217 persons belonging to the ST community are permanently residing within the Munnar Grama Panchayat. The 2 nd respondent, while issuing the notification for reservation for the Munnar Grama Panchayat Election, by mistake reserved one post for ST. According to the petitioner, it violates Article 243D of the Constitution of India. Hence, the petitioner submitted a representation, and no action has been taken. The 2 nd respondent, while issuing the notification for reservation for the Munnar Grama Panchayat Election, by mistake reserved one post for ST. According to the petitioner, it violates Article 243D of the Constitution of India. Hence, the petitioner submitted a representation, and no action has been taken. Aggrieved by the same, the above Writ Petition is filed with the following prayers: “i. To issue a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ, order or direction to set aside the Exhibit P5 notification to the extent of reserving 1 seat for scheduled tribe for Local Self Government election in Munnar Grama Panchayath. ii. To issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction to respondents 1 and 2 to consider Exhibit P6 representation within 1 week. iii. To permit the petitioner to dispense with production of translations of the exhibits in vernacular language along with the Writ Petition. iv. To pass such other reliefs that this Hon’ble Court deem fit and proper.”[SIC] 7. Heard the learned counsel appearing for the petitioners, the learned Special Government Pleader, the learned Standing Counsel appearing for the State Election Commission and the learned counsel appearing for the respective local authorities. 8. The main contentions of the petitioners in W.P.(C) Nos. 17267, 17277, 17321, 17352 & 17357 of 2025 are like this: According to the petitioners, the Government filed an affidavit before this Court stating that earlier reservations were made based on 2001 Census data, and therefore the reduction represents a correction or rationalisation. According to the petitioners, this is factually false and legally inconsistent. It is submitted that the 2015 and 2020 elections were conducted after the 2011 Census, and the reservation pattern at that time was fixed based on 2011 Census population data, as per the Panchayat Director’s notifications and Government circulars of that period. The reduction of the SC seat is not a correction, but a regressive alteration inconsistent with both statutory requirements and the Government’s own prior actions, is the submission. It is also submitted that the reduction of seats without any demographic basis dilutes the constitutional promise of equal political participation to historically marginalised groups. If the same is continued, it would open the floodgates for the arbitrary dilution of reservation quotas in other Panchayats, striking at the very heart of Article 243D of the Constitution of India, is the submission. If the same is continued, it would open the floodgates for the arbitrary dilution of reservation quotas in other Panchayats, striking at the very heart of Article 243D of the Constitution of India, is the submission. It is also submitted that the Government cannot selectively rely on Census data to reduce representation when the same data earlier justified the higher SC/ST seats. Therefore, it is submitted that the reduction of seats of the SC community is illegal and unconstitutional. 9. As far as W.P.(C) No.35938 of 2025 is concerned, the counsel submitted that the Munnar Gram Panchayat in Idukki district had 21 wards and 11 seats were reserved for women and 12 seats were reserved for SC, out of which 6 were reserved for women belonging to SC during the 2015 and 2020 Local Self Government elections. Therefore, it is submitted that, in the delimitation, the number of wards in Munnar Panchayath was reduced from 21 to 20. When the 2nd respondent issued Ext.P5 notification for reservation for SC/ST and women in Munnar Grama Panchayat, the 2 nd respondent, by mistake, reserved one ward for ST, is the submission of the petitioner. It is also submitted that, in 2010, the Government, by notification, formed Edamalakkudy Grama Panchayat, which is the only Panchayat formed for the ST community. The entire people residing in Rajamala, which was in ward No.1 of Munnar Grama Panchayat, had been included in Edamalakkudy Grama Panchayat, and hence the voters belonging to the ST community in Munnar Grama Panchayat have been reduced to less than 200, as evident from Ext.P4 and R5(a) in the Writ Petition, is the submission. Hence, there was no reservation of seats for ST in the election for Munnar Panchayath in the elections held in 2015 and 2020, is the submission. Several other contentions were also raised by the petitioner. 10. The Government filed a detailed counter-affidavit and an additional counter-affidavit. The local authorities also filed counter-affidavits. This Court has perused the same and also considered the contentions of the parties. As per Ext.P1 Government Order produced in these Writ Petitions, the number of seats reserved for SC/ST category in the various Panchayats and Municipalities was revised for the purpose of the coming Local Self Government Institutions election. The main grievance of the petitioners in W.P.(C) Nos. This Court has perused the same and also considered the contentions of the parties. As per Ext.P1 Government Order produced in these Writ Petitions, the number of seats reserved for SC/ST category in the various Panchayats and Municipalities was revised for the purpose of the coming Local Self Government Institutions election. The main grievance of the petitioners in W.P.(C) Nos. 17267, 17277, 17321, 17352 & 17357 of 2025 is that the number of seats reserved for SC/ST has been reduced, and there is no recent Census data. It is submitted that the fixation of the seats based on the 2011 Census data is illegal. 11. Section 7 of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act , 1994 (for short ‘Act 1994’) outlines the Composition of the Village Panchayat. It specifies that every Village Panchayat shall consist of elected members representing the territorial constituencies within the Panchayat area, with provisions for reservation for the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribes. It will be better to extract Section 7 of the Act 1994: “7. Composition of Village Panchayat.- (1) Every Village Panchayat shall consist of elected members equal to the number of seats notified under sub-section (1) of Section 6. (2) All the seats in a Village Panchayat shall be filled by persons chosen by direct election in accordance with the provisions of this Act. (3) In every Village Panchayat, seats shall be reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. (4) The number of seats reserved under sub- section (3) shall be determined by the Government and the number of seats so determined shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total number of seats in that Panchayat as the population of the Scheduled Castes in that Panchayat area or, as the case may be, of the Scheduled Tribes in that Panchayat area bears to the total population of the Panchayat area, and such seats shall be allotted by the State Election Commission or an officer authorised by it under sub-section (1B) of Section 10 by rotation to different constituencies in that Panchayat area: Provided that where the population of the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes in a Panchayat area is not sufficient enough to make them eligible for reservation of any seat, one seat shall be reserved in that Panchayat, for the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes having higher population. (5) Fifty percent (in the case of a fraction, it shall be fixed to the next higher integer) of the total number of seats reserved under sub-section (4) shall be reserved by the Government for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes as the case may be Provided that if the number of seats reserved for Scheduled Castes or, as the case may be, the Scheduled Tribes, under sub-section (4) is one, that seat shall not be reserved for women, belonging to Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes, as the case may be. (6) Fifty percent (in the case of a fraction, it shall be fixed to the next higher integer) including the seats reserved under sub-section (5) of the total number of seats in a Village Panchayat shall be reserved by the Government for women and such seats shall be allotted by the State Election Commission or the officer authorised by it under sub- section (1B) of Section 10 by rotation to different constituencies in the Village Panchayat area. (7) Nothing contained in sub-sections (3) to (6) shall be deemed to prevent members of the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes or the women from standing for election to the non- reserved seats in a Village Panchayat. (8) A Village Panchayat shall have a President and a Vice-President elected by the members of the Village Panchayat from among themselves” 12. As per Section 7 (3) of the Act 1994, in every Village Panchayat, seats shall be reserved for SC/ST. Section 7 (4) of Act 1994 says that the number of seats reserved under sub-section (3) shall be determined by the Government and the number of seats so determined shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total number of seats in that Panchayat as the population of the Scheduled Castes in that Panchayat area or, as the case may be, of the Scheduled Tribes in that Panchayat area bears to the total population of the Panchayat area, and such seats shall be allotted by the State Election Commission or an officer authorised by it under sub-section (1B) of Section 10 by rotation to different constituencies in that Panchayat area. The proviso to Section 7 (4) of the Act 1994 says that where the population of the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes in a Panchayat area is not sufficient enough to make them eligible for reservation of any seat, one seat shall be reserved in that Panchayat, for the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes having a higher population. Section 7 (5) of the Act 1994 says that fifty per cent (in the case of a fraction, it shall be fixed to the next higher integer) of the total number of seats reserved under sub-section (4) shall be reserved by the Government for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes, as the case may be. The proviso further says that if the number of seats reserved for Scheduled Castes or, as the case may be, the Scheduled Tribes, under sub-section (4) is one, that seat shall not be reserved for women, belonging to Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes, as the case may be. 13. Section 2(xxix) of the Act 1994 defines Population. It will be better to extract Section 2(xxix) of Act 1994: “(xxix) ‘population’ means the population assessed at the last census, the relevant details of which have been officially published;” 14. Article 243 (f) of the Constitution of India also defines Population, and the same is extracted hereunder: “(f) “population” means the population as ascertained at the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published;” 15. As per Section 7 (4) of the Act 1994, the number of seats reserved for SC/ST is calculated based on the following formula: “SC/ST Population in Panchayath X Total No.of Wards in Panchayath ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Population” 16. The population is defined in Article 243(f) of the Constitution of India and also in Section 2(xxix) of the Act 1994. The population refers to the population as assessed at the last Census, the relevant details of which have been officially published. In this case, there is no doubt that the population is assessed based on the details officially published in the last Census. The Government produced the relevant details of population data in each of the Panchayats as exhibits in their counter. Based on the same, the seats for SC/ST are calculated by taking the above formula. In this case, there is no doubt that the population is assessed based on the details officially published in the last Census. The Government produced the relevant details of population data in each of the Panchayats as exhibits in their counter. Based on the same, the seats for SC/ST are calculated by taking the above formula. It would be better to extract the calculations made by the respondents, based on which the seats for SC in W.P. (C) Nos. 17267, 17277, 17321, 17352, 17357 & 35938 of 2025 are calculated: CALCULATION 1) W.P.(C) No.17277/2025 (Valappad Grama Panchayath) No. of Seats reserved for SC/ST = SC/ST Population in Panchayath X Total No.of Wards in Panchayath Total Population = 977 X 22 35237 = 0.6 (rounded to 1 seat is reserved for Scheduled Caste) 2) W.P.(C) No.17352/2025 (Thalikulam Grama Panchayath) No. of Seats reserved for SC/ST = SC/ST Population in Panchayath X Total No.of Wards in Panchayath Total Population = 1247 X 18 25507 = 0:88 (Rounded to 1 seat is reserved for Scheduled Caste) 3) W.P.(C) No.17267/2025 (Vadanappally Grama Panchayath) No. of Seats reserved for SC/ST = SC/ST Population in Panchayath X Total No.of Wards in Panchayath Total Population = 798 x 20 30184 = 0.53 (Rounded to 1 seat is reserved for Scheduled Caste) 4) W.P. (C) No.17321/2025 (Engandiyur Grama Panchayath) No. of Seats reserved for SC/ST = SC/ST Population in Panchayath X Total No.of Wards in Panchayath Total Population 619 X 17 = 23583 = 0.44 (1 seat is reserved for Scheduled Caste) 5) W.P.(C) No. 17357/2025 (Nattika Grama Panchayath) No. of Seats reserved for SC/ST = SC/ST Population in Panchayath X Total No.of Wards in Panchayath Total Population = 1043 X 15 18406 = 0.85 (Rounded to 1 seat is reserved for Scheduled Caste) 6) W.P. (C) No.35938/2025 (Munnar Grama Panchayath) (Please see the Statement filed in the Writ Petition) Total SC Population No. of Wards/Total Population =17657 X 20 30708 =11.4 (11 seats is reserved for Scheduled Caste) Total ST Population No. of Wards/Total Population =855 X 20 30708 =0.55 (Rounded to 1 seat is reserved for Scheduled Tribe) 17. The main contention of the petitioners is that the present population has not been considered while fixing the number of seats to be reserved for SC/ST. The main contention of the petitioners is that the present population has not been considered while fixing the number of seats to be reserved for SC/ST. However, as I mentioned earlier, the population as defined in Section 2(xxix) of the Act 1994 and Article 243(f) of the Constitution of India has been taken into account by the respondents, and subsequently, the number of seats for SC/ST has been assessed. I see absolutely no reason to interfere with the above findings. As long as the fact remains that the number of seats for SC/ST has been assessed based on the population as defined in Section 2(xxix) of the Act 1994 and Article 243(f) of the Constitution of India, unless the same is challenged, the petitioners' contentions cannot be accepted. Even though in W.P.(C) No.35938 of 2025, the petitioner is aggrieved by the allotment of one seat for the ST population, the same principle has been adopted by the respondents. I see no reason to interfere with the same. There is no merit in these Writ Petitions. Accordingly, the above Writ Petitions are dismissed.