SC asks Centre to hold elections in Jammu and Kashmir by Sep 30 next year

New Delhi: On Monday, Supreme Court asked the Centre to hold elections in Jammu and Kashmir by September 30 next year. The CJI DY Chandrachud said, “We direct that steps will be taken by the Election Commission of India to hold elections to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly by September 30. Statehood will be restored at the earliest.”

The CJI further said that the Supreme Court of India upheld the validity of decision to carve Union Territory of Ladakh out of Jammu and Kashmir. The Supreme Court upheld the government’s decision to scrap Article 370, and said steps should be taken to restore the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir at the earliest. 

“We uphold validity of decision to carve Union Territory of Ladakh out of Jammu and Kashmir,” the CJI said. The top court said no maladies in the exercise of power under Article 370(3) by the President to issue an August 2019 order. “Thus, we hold the exercise of Presidential power to be valid.”

The CJI further said, “The power of the President to issue notification under Article 370(3) that Article 370 ceases to exist continues to exist even after the dissolution of the Jammu and Kashmir Constituent Assembly. The recommendation of the Constituent Assembly was not binding on the President. The Jammu and Kashmir Constituent Assembly was intended to be a temporary body.”