On Monday, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition challenging the delimitation of Assembly constituencies in the newly created Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir. The court stated that “there is absolutely no merit in any of the contentions raised by the petitioners.” The Bench of Justice SK Kaul and Justice AS Oka clarified that they had not ruled on the validity of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which is pending before another Bench of the top court examining petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution.
The verdict came on a petition filed by Srinagar residents Haji Abdul Gani Khan and Mohammad Ayub Mattoo, who questioned the increase in the number of seats from 83 to 90 (excluding 24 seats in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) in the UT as recommended by the Delimitation Commission headed by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai. The petitioners contended that it went against the Constitution and statutory provisions.
Defending the delimitation exercise, the Centre said the commission was empowered to do so, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act didn’t preclude the establishment of the Delimitation Commission by the Centre. The Centre maintained that the delimitation exercise had become final and couldn’t be challenged in courts. The Election Commission said the delimitation exercise had attained finality after the publication of the Delimitation Orders in Gazette Notifications on May 5, 2022, in terms of the Delimitation Act.
However, the court clarified that it had not given its imprimatur to the exercise of powers under clauses (1) and (3) of Article 370 of the Constitution. The court said that it was aware that the issue of the validity of the exercise of the power was the subject matter of petitions pending before it.
Meanwhile, the entry to the trial court during the Lakhimpur Kheri violence cases has been restricted by the Supreme Court. Nobody, except the accused, their one representative, and lawyers, will be allowed to be present in the court during the trial. Union minister Ajay Kumar Mishra’s son Ashish is an accused in the case.
(With inputs from Tribune)
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