New Delhi. The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Election Commission of India to take steps to hold Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections by September 30 next year. CJI D.Y. Chandrachud said, this court is conscious of the security concerns in the area. Direct elections to the Legislative Assemblies, which is one of the paramount features of representative democracy in India, cannot be stopped until statehood is restored.
He further said, we direct that steps will be taken by the Election Commission of India to hold elections to the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly constituted under Section 14 of the Reorganization Act by 30 September 2024 and the status of statehood will be restored as soon as possible. Delivering the verdict on petitions challenging the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories (UTs) – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, CJI Chandrachud struck down the Union Territory due to Article 3(A) Retained the status of Ladakh as a state.
He said, in view of the contention of the Solicitor General that the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir will be restored, we do not find it necessary to decide whether the State of Jammu and Kashmir will be reorganized into two Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu or not.
CJI Chandrachud clarified that the question whether Parliament can, in exercise of the power under Article 3, destroy the character of a State by converting it into one or more Union Territories, has been left open. It may be recalled that the apex court had earlier emphasized that the erstwhile state cannot be a permanent Union Territory, and said that restoration of democracy is very important.
During the hearing, the Central government had told the Supreme Court that it could not give any exact timeline and it would take some time to restore statehood in Jammu and Kashmir, while reiterating that the Union Territory status is temporary. . Regarding Ladakh, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had said that it will remain a Union Territory.
Source : palpalindia
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