NEW DELHI: On Thursday, the Union government notified the Supreme Court that it was prepared to hold elections in Jammu and Kashmir at any moment. The government’s Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta, stated that the process of updating the voter list is mostly complete. Mehta predicted that municipal and panchayat elections would take place first, followed by the legislative assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. But whatever election should be held first is up to the State Election Commission and the Central Election Commission, he continued.There are three upcoming elections. The three-tier panchayat raj system is established for the first time. Panchayat elections would be held initially. Elections for the District Development Council have already been held, Mehta informed the Constitutional Court’s five-judge panel, which is presided over by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud. The administration made it clear that Jammu and Kashmir’s status as a Union Territory is temporary, but it did not specify when statehood will be restored. We are dealing with a highly extraordinary scenario, he said, adding, “So far as statehood is concerned, I have already made a statement but that apart, the speech of the home minister on the floor of parliament – UT is a temporary thing. When comparing the situation in 2018 with that in 2023, the solicitor general claimed that “terrorist initiated instances” have decreased by 45.2% and infiltration by 90.2%. He added that security force casualties had decreased by 65.9% and cases of stone-pelting had decreased by 97.2%, and that the agencies would take these factors into account before making any decisions. When addressing the validity of repealing Article 370, senior attorney Kapil Sibal, who was representing National Conference leader Mohammad Akbar Lone, questioned if the court was taking these considerations into account.The bench will decide whether or not to repeal Article 370 based on constitutional reasons, according to CJI Chandrachud, and election or statehood-related information won’t go into that decision. The Supreme Court stressed on Tuesday that the restoration of democracy in the area was “very important” and asked the administration to say if there was a timeline for awarding Jammu & Kashmir statehood. “The administration must declare to us that the transition of J&K back to statehood is necessary. It cannot continue to be a permanent Union territory (UT). It is crucial to restore democracy. It’s essential to our country’s survival, the bench declared.
