[dropcap]T[/dropcap]HE President of India Ram Nath Kovind today gave assent to “The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019” (Reorganization Act, 2019) that bifurcates the state of Jammu and Kashmir into the Union Territory of Ladakh, comprising Kargil and Leh districts and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, comprising the territories of the existing state of Jammu and Kashmir, other than Kargil and Leh.
The Central Government, in a separate notification issued today, said October 31, 2019, would be the appointed day on which the provisions of the Reorganization Act, 2019 would come into force.
With this, the state of Jammu and Kashmir will stand bifurcated into two Union Territories (UT), to be known as the UT of Ladakh and UT of Jammu and Kashmir on October 31, 2019.
Parliament had passed the Reorganization Act on August 6, 2019.
Key features of the Act:
- There shall be formed a new Union territory to be known as the Union territory of Ladakh comprising the following territories of the existing State of Jammu and Kashmir, namely:— “Kargil and Leh districts”,
- There shall be formed a new Union territory to be known as the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir comprising the territories of the existing State of Jammu and Kashmir other than Kargil and Leh.
- The Governor of the existing State of Jammu and Kashmir shall be the Lieutenant Governor for the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, and Union territory of Ladakh for such period as may be determined by the President.
- Four sitting members of the Council of States representing the existing State of Jammu and Kashmir shall be deemed to have been elected to fill the seats allotted to the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The term of office of such sitting members shall remain unaltered.
- There shall be allocated five seats to the successor Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and one seat to Union territory of Ladakh, in the House of the People, and the First Schedule to the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (43 of 1950) shall be deemed to be amended accordingly.
- The Delimitation of Parliamentary Constituencies Order, 1976 shall stand amended. The Election Commission may conduct the elections to the House of the People for the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union territory of Ladakh as per the allocation of seats specified in the Delimitation of Parliamentary Constituencies Order, 1976 as amended by the present Act.
- Every sitting member of the House of the People representing a constituency which, on the appointed day by virtue of the provisions of section 10, stands allotted, with or without alteration of boundaries, to the successor Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir or Union territory of Ladakh, as the case may be, shall be deemed to have been elected to the House of the People by that constituency as so allotted. The term of office of such sitting members shall remain unaltered.
- The provisions contained in article 239A, which are applicable to “Union territory of Puducherry”, shall also apply to the “Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir”.
- There shall be an Administrator appointed under article 239 of the Constitution of India for the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and shall be designated as Lieutenant Governor of the said Union territory. There shall be a Legislative Assembly for the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The total number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir to be filled by persons chosen by direct election shall be 107.
- Seats shall be reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assembly of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
- Lieutenant Governor of the successor Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir may nominate two members to the Legislative Assembly to give representation to women, if in his opinion, women are not adequately represented in the Legislative Assembly.
- The Legislative Assembly, unless sooner dissolved, shall continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and no longer, and the expiration of the said period of five years shall operate as a dissolution of the Legislative Assembly:
- The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir shall be the common High Court for the proposed Union territory of Jammu& Kashmir and Union territory Ladakh.
- A total of 106 Central Laws to be made applicable to the Union territory of Jammu & Kashmir & Union territory of Ladakh. CrPC, CPC, RTI Act, Indian Penal Code (IPC), Hindu Marriage Act, Hindu Succession Act, Aadhaar Act etc.
The Act also provides that until the area of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir under the occupation of Pakistan ceases to be so occupied and the people residing in that area elect their representatives:
- Twenty-four seats in the Legislative Assembly of Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir shall remain vacant and shall not be taken into account for reckoning the total membership of the Assembly; and
- the said area and seats shall be excluded in delimiting the territorial constituencies as provided under this Act.
