The Supreme Court upheld the Jammu and Kashmir delimitation exercise, paving the way for elections in the Valley. The apex court dismissed a plea challenging the government’s decision to constitute the Delimitation Commission for redrawing the Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The petitioners – Haji Abdul Gani Khan and Mohammad Ayub Mattoo, contended in their plea that according to a letter issued by the Delimitation Commission in July 2004, the number of existing Assembly seats of all states and Union Territories cannot be changed till the first Census is conducted after 2026.
They also contended that the delimitation exercise has not been carried out for the last 51 years in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland.
They have also argued that under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act of 2019, the Election Commission was the only body empowered to conduct the delimitation exercise and not a “temporary body” like the Delimitation Commission.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah last year said Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held once the delimitation exercise is over and after consultation with political parties.
Jammu and Kashmir has been under President’s Rule since June 2018, when the BJP pulled out of the coalition government with the PDP of Mehboob Mufti.
On March 6, 2020, the Central government had issued a notification in exercise of power under Section 3 of the Delimitation Act, 2002, setting up a Delimitaion Commission, with former Supreme Court judge (Retd) Ranjana Prakash Desai as the chairperson.
