Ready for J&K polls any time, no time frame for statehood: Centre tells Supreme Court

The bench, comprising Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justices S K Kaul, Sanjeev Khanna, B R Gavai and Surya Kant, has been hearing petitions challenging the amendments made to Article 370 in 2019. Following the end of its special status, the State of J&K was reorganised into the UTs of J&K and Ladakh.

Two days ago, the bench had asked the government when it would hold elections in J&K and if there was a time frame for grant of statehood.

Responding to this, Mehta said, “The Central government is ready for elections any time now. Till date, updating of voter list has been going on, and is substantially over. Some part is remaining. That the Election Commission is doing. (It) will be a call taken by the UT Election Commission and Election Commission of India together.”

He said three elections were due in J&K where the three-tier Panchayati Raj system was introduced after 2019.

“So, the first election will be that of panchayats. The District Development Council elections have already taken place. The Leh (Hill Development Council) elections are over. The Kargil HDC election is in September. The process is already on. This is the position as of today. The second election will be municipality elections. And the third would be the Legislative Assembly elections. It (J&K) is UT with a legislature,” he said.

Mehta also read out statistics, saying these were relevant for the purpose of any decision on conducting elections.

Comparing figures for 2018 and 2023, he said, “Terrorist-initiated instances reduced by 45.2 per cent… Infiltration, which was a very major problem in J&K, reduced by 90.2 per cent, and stone-pelting etc reduced by 97.2 per cent… Casualty of security persons too has reduced by 65.9 per cent. These are all figures relevant for the purpose of decision.”

Justice Kaul said it is not really relevant for the purpose of deciding the question before the court.

Mehta said it is “for the purpose of when to hold the election” and “as on date, this is the situation”. He said “these are the factors which agencies will take into consideration”.

What affected elections the most in the past, he said, were stone-pelting incidents and regular calls for bandhs or hartals. “In 2018, stone-pelting incidents were 1,767. It is nil now (from 2019), not just because of effective policing or (because of) security personnel. But because of various steps like gainfully employing the youth etc… They were misled by secessionist forces, by forces outside the country. And organised bandhs, which were 52 in 2017, are now nil (since 2019),” he said.

Referring to the Union Home Minister’s statement on J&K’s UT status being temporary, Mehta said, “We are dealing with an extremely extraordinary situation. It will have to be infused with several things so that it becomes a state, so to say. Those actions are initiated.”

He said peace does not come merely by policing. “There are several schemes… and several beneficial projects that are introduced. Out of 53 projects under the Prime Minister’s development package worth Rs 58,477 crore, 32 are complete. This is how progressively we are proceeding to make it a complete state,” he said.

Mehta said it was heartening to know that 1.88 crore tourists visited J&K in 2022. “The main industry so far was tourism. Now industries are coming. Till date in 2023, 1 crore tourists. It generates employment in various sectors. These steps being taken by the Central government can only be taken if there is a UT,” he said.

Intervening, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for some of the petitioners, sought to know whether the court was taking into account the facts placed on record by the Solicitor General, saying these were irrelevant to a decision in the case.

He said if the court was indeed taking these into account, the petitioners too would like to counter it.

“These facts will go into the mind of the court because they (the government) are trying to show how this ‘enormous change’ has taken place for the benefit of the people of J&K,” Sibal said, adding “if you have 5,000 people under house arrest and Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure invoked throughout the state, there can be no bandh”. He urged the court not to enter into this area.

The CJI said what was stated by Mehta was in the context of queries posed by the bench on the roadmap to statehood, and would have no bearing on deciding the question of law being dealt with by the court.

“These are matters on which there can be, and should be, in a democracy, policy differences. But that can’t affect the Constitutional answer to a Constitutional challenge. Therefore, we placed those facts which he mentioned in the perspective of the roadmap to statehood. That’s all,” the CJI said.

Attorney General R Venkataramani said neither the statements nor their refutation will enter into the question of determining the Constitutional question.

Sibal said, “The problem is all this is televised… So these facts come on record. They are a part of public space and people will feel what a great thing has been done by the government. This creates a problem.”

Mehta said, “Progress never creates a problem… On the lighter side, my friend says there are some people who are under house arrest and, therefore, there is no bandh. That means, right people are under house arrest.”