The Supreme Court of India on Friday refused to stay the ongoing delimitation process in Jammu and Kashmir. The court asked the Senior Advocate Ravi Shankar Jandhyala the petitioner’s counsel, to be mindful of his language in Court.
The bench asked the counsel if he had raised any issues regarding Article 370 in the current petition, which has essentially challenged the Delimitation exercise undertaken in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with the notifications of 2020, 2021, and 2022.
The bench while hearing the present case, which also comprises Justice MM Sundresh, questioned the petitioner’s counsel Senior Advocate Ravi Shankar Jandhyala on whether the petition is challenging the repeal of Article 370 of the Constitution.
Accordingly, the petitioner Counsel Replied that On August 5, 2019, Kashmir became a part of the country….
In Reply Justice Kaul said:
Be mindful of the language you use. Kashmir has always been a part of the country! Just a special provision was removed
The Court also questioned Jandhyala on why he had not challenged the two-year-old delimitation constitution.
The counsel responded by stating that delimitation is a process that should only be undertaken by the election commission and not by any other body.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Court that the first prayer in the petition was for the delimitation to be conducted by the committee rather than the election commission, and the second prayer was for the census.
After hearing the parties, the court directed the central government and the election commission to file their replies in the matter and also directed that averments regarding the repeal of Article 370 be ignored.
The bench declined to issue a notice in the case.
The hearing has now been rescheduled for August 30, 2022.
