JK Delimitation Commission to hold its 1st meet on Thursday, NC to boycott

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 17

Ahead of the first meeting of the Delimitation Commission for Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, the National Conference said it would not be part of the proceedings called in exercise of powers under a law whose constitutional validity was under judicial scrutiny.

Constituted by the Union Law Ministry on March 6, 2020 under Section 3 of the Delimitation Act 2002, the Delimitation Commission for J&K has the mandate to delimit the constituencies of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with the provisions under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act 2019 which bifurcated the state into union territories of J&K and Ladakh.

Declining an invitation from the Commission to attend the meeting with associate members (Lok Sabha MPs from J&K) on Thursday, National Conference MPs on Wednesday said the J&K Reorganization Act 2019 was “unconstitutional” and under judicial scrutiny.

“We have challenged the constitutional validity of the Act and the Supreme Court has referred the petitions to a five judge Constitutional bench for consideration. The petitions are expected to be taken up once physical hearings of the SC resume.

“With the constitutional validity of the J&K Reorganization Act suspect, the principle of constitutional propriety demands that the law should await the Supreme Court judgment. Further, the two pillars of the state – the executive and the legislature – must out of respect for the third pillar, the judiciary, avoid implementing the Act,” NC Lok Sabha MPs Farooq Abdullah, Hasnain Masoodi and Mohammad Akbar Lone said in a letter to Commission chairperson Justice (Retd) Ranjana Prakash Desai.

They urged the chairperson to halt the proceedings of the Delimitation Commission till the constitutional validity of the J&K Reorganization Act 2019 was settled.

“It would not be in tune with the spirit of the Constitution of India to associate with the proceedings taken in exercise of powers under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act 2019, the constitutional validity whereof is under challenge and under judicial scrutiny by the highest constitutional court,” said the NC leaders.

They further said that under the constitutional scheme, the delimitation of the Assembly constituencies fell within the powers of the state of Jammu and Kashmir and under Section 47 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir, the exercise is to be undertaken once the figures of the first Census after the year 2026 are published.

“The Jammu and Kashmir Representation of People’s Act 1957 dealt with the constitution of the delimitation commission and the procedure to be followed by the Commission. It says delimitation is to happen after the figures of the first Census conducted after 2026 were published,” the NC leaders pointed out.

The term of the Delimitation Commission for J&K expires on March 5, this year.

Its members include Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra and J&K Election Commissioner KK Sharma.

The Commission has invited associate members, Union Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh, Farooq Abdullah, Jugal Kishore Sharma, Mohammad Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi, all Lok Sabha MPs from J&K, for a meeting in New Delhi on Thursday.

The delimitation of J&K Assembly segments is essential to hold elections there. The last delimitation was held in 1994 and1995 when seats were raised from 76 to 87.  Since 2002, the exercise has remained frozen.

Before the state was bifurcated, its Assembly had 111 seats, including the 24 reserved for PoK. After 2019, the Home Ministry increased seats in J&K Assembly to 114. Of these, elections are held on 90 seats.

Prior to bifurcation, elections were held on 87 seats (Kashmir 46, Jammu 37 and Ladakh 4). Once the UT of Ladakh was created four seats went to Ladakh and the number of seats in J&K for which elections are to be held was reduced to 83.

Seven seats were added to raise this number to 90.