After more than four years of Jammu and Kashmir turning into a Union Territory, the Centre informed the Supreme Court on Thursday that they are unable to provide an exact time frame for restoration of the UTs statehood at the moment but also added that the Union Territory status is a “temporary phenomenon”.He also said that they are ready to hold elections in the state and the updating process of the voter list is almost over. According to Mehtas statement, the legislative assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are likely to be held after panchayat polls and municipal polls.He further added that the sequence in which the elections take place will be decided by the State Election Commission and the Central Election Commission.“There are three elections which are due. For the first time, the three-tier panchayat raj system is introduced. The first elections would be for panchayats. District development council elections have already taken place,” Mehta told the court.Petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 in SC | Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Centre, tells Supreme Court that it is ready for elections in Jammu and Kashmir at any time now. pic.twitter.com/mhiqqWPBbf— ANI (@ANI) August 31, 2023Previous hearing in courtA statement was made by the Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta in front of a constitution bench of the Supreme Court. This bench is currently dealing with pleas that challenge the revocation of Article 370 under which Jammu and Kashmir had a special constitutional status.A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Of India, DY Chandrachud, is conducting daily hearings of petitions who emphasised on the need to restore statehood to J&K on Tuesday. In that meeting, Mehta had said that he would give a positive response by Thursday.“I have taken instructions. The instructions are that the Union Territory (of Jammu and Kashmir) is not a permanent feature. I will make a positive statement the day after tomorrow. Ladakh will remain a UT,” he had told the courtDisappointed LadakhThe leaders and petitioners from Ladakh were not pleased with Tushar Mehtas comment to make Ladakh remain a Union Territory. Over the last two years, there have been massive protests in Ladakh demanding statehood for the region.After Article 370 was scrapped off in 2019, Modi had assured that the region will be restored back to statehood at an appropriate time. Home Minister Amit Shah has reiterated the same but no deadline has been set for such a move.
