The Supreme Court on Friday requested answers from the central government and administration of Jammu and Kashmir on a petition challenging the proposal for a demarcation measure. A demarcation panel has recommended increasing the number of congregational seats in the Union territory from 83 to 90.The plea sought to declare the increase in seats in violation of Articles 81, 82, 170 and 330 & 332 of the Constitution and Section 63 of the J&K Reorganization Act, 2019.
Petition filed
The petition – filed by residents of J&K – also called for a statement that the establishment of the delimitation commission under the Delimitation Act 2022 is without power, jurisdiction or authority. The next hearing on the matter is scheduled for August 30.Last week, a panel — tasked with redrawing J&K constituencies — completed the Union Territory electoral map, ending the controversial exercise and paving the way for elections in the region. The big move comes for the first time after the Article 370 special status was abolished under Article 370.
JAMMU
The three-member demarcation commission issued its final order, allocating 43 seats to the Hindu-majority region of Jammu and 47 to Muslim-majority Kashmir. Among the seven new seats are six for Jammu and one for Kashmir.However, days after the report appeared, the opposition described the proposal as “politically motivated”. “The demarcation commission has completely ignored the basic realities, neglecting the convenience and aspirations of people in different areas, widening the population gap between different constituencies from 37,000 to 1.90 lakh, ignoring the geographical, topographical situations and general public convenience, a joint statement quoted the heads of state and government as saying.The statement was released after leaders of the National Conference, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the CPI and some civil society groups met earlier this week.
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