Overview
- The High Court issued the suspension in an order dated November 4 and told the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India and the Centre to consider multiple representations and give a reasoned decision by April 30, 2027.
- The court kept earlier Centre notifications that had already deferred house‑listing and excluded Manipur from the nationwide enumeration in force until the mandated review is completed.
- Petitioners include local student groups and civil society bodies that say thousands displaced by ethnic violence and damaged or abandoned homes would make an accurate headcount impossible without special safeguards.
- Requests before the court ask for measures such as recording displaced people’s original residence, special instructions and independent monitoring for enumerators, recounts in some hill areas, and an update of the National Register of Citizens for consideration.
- Officials must allow public submissions and consultations or record why they chose not to hold them, and the census will remain paused for four weeks after any final order to give affected parties time to challenge it in court.