Aizawl: The Chakma Autonomous District Council (CADC) on Friday restored provisions barring its members from simultaneously holding a seat in the Mizoram Legislative Assembly, complying with a recent Supreme Court order on dual membership of autonomous district councils and state legislatures, an official said.
The amendment was passed during the second sitting of the emergency session of the 1CADC at the council’s session hall in Kamalanagar.
The CADC (Constitution, Conduct of Business, etc.) (Ninth Amendment) Rules, 2026, which amended Rules 11, 22 and 23 of the principal rules of 2002, as amended in 2003, were passed with 17 members voting in favour, one against and one abstaining, the official said.
Four members, including lone Mizo National Front (MNF) member Rasik Mohan Chakma, were absent.
A key provision of the amendment restored the original sub-rules (1) to (6) of Rule 11 of the 2002 rules, replacing provisions introduced through the 2003 amendment that had removed the prohibition on dual membership, the official said.
The move follows the Supreme Court’s July 20 judgment, in which the apex court set aside a Gauhati High Court judgment that had upheld the validity of the CADC’s 2003 amendment removing the bar on simultaneous membership of the district council and the state legislature.
Rustom Chakma, a social worker based in southern Mizoram’s Lawngtlai, had approached the Supreme Court after the Gauhati High Court dismissed his petition seeking a bar on dual membership in the Autonomous District Council (ADC) and the state Assembly.
The Gauhati High Court, in its February 4 judgment, held that Articles 101 and 190 of the Constitution of India, governing simultaneous membership of Parliament and state legislatures, did not expressly prohibit simultaneous membership of an autonomous district council and a state legislative assembly.
The Supreme Court held that the autonomous district councils in Mizoram should be placed on an equal footing with regard to the bar on dual membership.
It noted that while the Chakma and Mara councils had removed the restriction, the Lai Autonomous District Council (LADC) retained such a bar, and directed the CADC and the Mara Autonomous District Council to reconsider their rules and restore the bar on dual membership.
The CADC’s amendment effectively restored the position under the original 2002 rules, under which a member of the district council could not simultaneously be a member of the Mizoram Legislative Assembly.