“Anytime Now”: Centre Informs Supreme Court On Jammu And Kashmir Elections

The Union government informed the Supreme Court that elections in Jammu and Kashmir could be conducted anytime now, but the decision lies with the Election Commission of India and the state election body. The Centre government shared this information with the Supreme during the hearing of a set of petitions challenging the scrapping of Article 370.

The Solicitor General of Government of India informed the apex court that elections for Ladakh Hill Development Council and Leh are over now and polls in Kargil will be held next month. After the abrogation of Article 370 in the united Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh was declared a union territory.

On the Tuesday hearings regarding the Article 370 case, the Supreme Court had asked the Union Government to provide a timeframe for restoring Jammu and Kashmir‘s statehood. The bench, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, questioned the temporary nature of the Union Territory (UT) status and the timing of elections.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta referred to Home Minister Amit Shah’s assurance of restoring statehood in the Parliament during the enactment of the Act. The Chief Justice asked, “How impermanent is this? When are you going to have elections?” Mr Mehta pledged to seek instructions on the matter.

Chief Justice Chandrachud explored whether a state-to-UT conversion could be temporary for national security but insisted on an eventual return to statehood. “It can’t be a UT permanently,” he stressed.