Ready For Jammu And Kashmir Polls Anytime Now, Centre Tells Supreme Court

The Centre today told the Supreme Court that elections could be conducted in Jammu and Kashmir anytime now, but the decision lies with the Election Commission and the state poll panel.

A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud was told by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that Jammu and Kashmir will be held in three stages - first there will be panchayat polls, second municipal polls and then legislative assembly polls.

The statements came during the hearing of a bunch of petitions challenging the scrapping of Article 370. The Centre had earlier argued that Jammu and Kashmir was one of a kind and the bifurcation was needed.

In its last hearing on Tuesday, the Supreme Court had laid emphasis on the need to restore democracy in J&K, which has been without an elected government since June 2018.

During today's hearing, the Centre though refused to provide a timeframe on restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood.

So far, at the heart of the arguments, is if due process was followed while abrogating Article 370 and dividing state into two union territories- J&K and Ladakh.

Leaders and petitioners from Ladakh have expressed their disappointment over The Solicitor General's statement that Ladakh will remain a Union Territory. Over the last two years, there have been massive protests in Ladakh demanding statehood for the region.

After scrapping Article 370 in August 2019, the Centre had said that it will restore statehood at an appropriate time. Home Minister Amit Shah has reiterated the same but no deadline has been set for such a move.