The apex court has dismissed the petition challenging the Delimitation Commission that redrawn constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir
The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea challenging the government's decision to set up the Delimitation Commission, which has redrawn assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated and downgraded into two union territories in 2019, when its special status under Article 370 of the Constitution was scrapped.
A bench of Justice SK Kaul and Justice AS Oka pronounced the verdict on a petition filed by two Kashmir residents - Haji Abdul Ghani Khan and Muhammad Ayub Matto.
The petitioners argued that constituencies across the country were decided on the basis of the 1971 census and should remain unchanged till the first census after 2026.
The government, however, maintained that the Delimitation Commission was part of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act passed in Parliament in 2019 after the Center decided to abrogate Article 370.
Commenting on the issue, CPI(M) leader MY Tarigami said the apex court's dismissal of a petition challenging the delimitation process in Jammu and Kashmir has added to the long list of disappointments of the people of the Union Territory.
"There is not much to say about the Supreme Court's decision on delimitation, it is another disappointment for the people of Jammu and Kashmir," People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration spokesperson Tarigami told news agency PTI.
Tarigami said that it is unacceptable to carry out the process of delimitation under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act.
"It is just delimitation in the name of delimitation. They have almost disrupted the unity of the people of Jammu and Kashmir," he said.
He further said that there were a bunch of petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 and the Reorganization Act before the apex court, but they were not being heard.
"I gave an application for early hearing of those petitions... The previous Chief Justice of India had said that the petitions would be listed after Dussehra, the present Chief Justice of India said that they would be heard after the holidays.
"There was some hope after these assurances but these too did not materialize and only led to disappointment," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment