SC notice to the Centre, EC on plea against Jammu and Kashmir delimitation exercise

The Supreme Court on Friday sought a reply from the Centre, Jammu and Kashmir administration, and the Election Commission on a plea questioning the setting up of a delimitation commission to redraw the assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies in the Union Territory.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M M Sundresh, however, made it clear that the court would not consider the contention with regard to challenge to abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, as the matter was already sub judice.

Kashmir was always part of India and just a special provision was removed, the court noted.

It issued notice to the Centre and others on a petition filed by two Srinagar residents Haji Abdul Gani Khan and Dr Mohammad Ayub Mattoo and put the matter for consideration on August 30.

The petitioners sought a declaration that increases in the number of seats from 107 to 114 in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is ultra vires the constitutional provisions such as Articles 81, 82, 170, 330, and 332 and statutory provisions particularly under section 63 of the Jammu a d Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.

The plea also asked the court to issue a direction to declare the notification issued on March 6, 2020, constituting the Delimitation Commission to take up delimitation in the UT of J and K and states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland are violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.

The plea said that if August 5, 2019, was to unite the Jammu and Kashmir state with India, then the delimitation process defeats the “new order” of one nation and one Constitution in the country.

“While Article 170 of the Constitution provides that the next delimitation in the country will be taken up after 2026, why has the UT of Jammu and Kashmir been singled out,” it asked.