New Delhi: The Union government on Thursday apprised the Supreme Court that it cannot give an exact timeline for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood but it is ready to conduct elections. It also clarified that the union territory status of J&K is temporary.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that the inability to give an exact timeframe for the conduct of elections is due to the repeated law and order disturbances in the valley but assured the court that substantial progress has been made to restore statehood.
“The government is ready for elections. It is for the Election Commission of India and the Election Commission of the State to take the call”, said Mr. Mehta.
The petitioners argued that Article 370 had become a permanent feature of the Constitution that could not be made inoperable. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal argued that the provision is referred to as a temporary provision not because it can be terminated by the President, but because the provision gave the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir the power to recommend changes to Article 370 until the state’s Constitution was enacted.
The Supreme Court has heard arguments by petitioners challenging the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution for more than 10 days. The government will defend the legal manoeuvres of August 2019 this week.
On August 5, then President Ram Nath Kovind issued CO 272, a presidential order amending Article 367, which deals with the interpretation of the Constitution. On August 6, President Kovind issued a second proclamation, operationalizing Rajya Sabha’s recommendations. Later on August 9, Parliament passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019, bifurcating the state into two Union Territories.