'Ready for elections in Jammu and Kashmir at any time', Center said during the hearing in SC on Article 370
Article 370 in SC: Article 370 in SC The Center told the Supreme Court that it is working rapidly to restore the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir but is unable to give any fixed deadline for this. However, the Center clarified that the status of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is temporary and work is going on to make it a full-fledged state.
The petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 were heard again in the Supreme Court today. Opposing the petition in the Supreme Court, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told the Supreme Court that the government is ready for elections in Jammu and Kashmir at any time.
During the hearing, the Center answered several questions from the five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud. The Center told the Supreme Court that it is working expeditiously to restore the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir, but is unable to give any fixed deadline for this.
The Center said that the process of updating the voter list is going on in Jammu and Kashmir, and it will take a month to complete.
However, the Center clarified that the Union Territory status is temporary. The Center further said that work is on to make it a full state.
The Center told the Supreme Court that elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in three phases. SJ said that the first elections will be held at the Panchayat level, the second municipal, and then assembly elections.
During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the NC leader, objected to the Supreme Court taking on record the Centre's data on terrorism-related incidents. On this, the CJI assured Sibal that the Centre's data on terrorist incidents in Jammu and Kashmir will not affect the constitutional issue of Article 370 being decided by the Supreme Court.
Opposing the petitions, the Center told the Supreme Court that there has been a decrease in terrorist incidents after the removal of Article 370. The Center said that compared to 2018, there has been a reduction of 45.2 percent in terrorist incidents in 2023.
With this, the incidence of infiltration has also reduced by 90 percent, the Center said. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that incidents like stone pelting etc. have also reduced by 97 percent.
At the same time, there has been a reduction of 65 percent in incidents of harm to security personnel. The Center said that the incidents of stone pelting were 1767 in the year 2018, which is now zero.
