New Delhi, Aug 29: The five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court, hearing a clutch of petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370, asked the Centre for the first time on Tuesday to specify a time frame for restoration of electoral democracy in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, saying the present arrangement “has to come to an end”.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, told the bench the union territory status of Jammu and Kashmir is not a “permanent thing” and that the government will make an elaborate statement on the vexatious political issue in the court on August 31.
The bench, headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandradhud, which was hearing Mehta’s submissions defending the Centre’s decision to do away with the special status of the former state and its reorganisation, said, “Democracy is important, although we agree that in view of the national security scenario, reorganisation of the state can be done.” The court said lack of electoral democracy cannot be allowed to go on indefinitely.
“This has to come an end… give us the specific time frame as to when will you restore actual democracy. We want to record this,” the bench said, and asked Mehta and Attorney General R Venkataramani to seek instructions from the political executive and get back to the court.
“I have taken instructions and the instructions are that the UT status for Jammu and Kashmir is not a permanent thing. It will remain for Ladakh. However, I will make an elaborate statement on August 31,” Mehta told the bench, also comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai and Surya Kant. He read out from the statement Home Minister Amit Shah had made while tabling the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill in 2019 saying J&K’s statehood will be restored in due course of time.
As the hearing on the hugely contentious issue continued for the 12th day, the apex court wanted to know from the government’s law officers was the abrogation of Article 370 “really a logical step” to achieve J-K’s complete integration with India.
“The wide chasm between absolute autonomy, as it existed on January 26, 1950, and complete integration, as it was brought on August 5, 2019… that chasm has been substantially bridged by what was happening in between. So, really, in the sense it was not a complete migration from absolute autonomy to absolute integration.
“It is obvious that a substantial degree of integration has already taken place in the last 69 years. Therefore, what was done in 2019 was it really a logical step forward to achieve that integration?” the bench asked Attorney General R Venkataramani. (PTI)
