JK delimitation case to be heard by SC on Nov 29

New Delhi, Nov 16: The Supreme Court has again expressed its displeasure at the delay by the Union
government in filing documents in response to a petition that challenged delimitation in Jammu and
Kashmir.
The Union Government has asked for some more time to file the response in the petition.
The bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul has given time to the Central Government and has instructed
that the matter shall be heard on November 29.
The revision of electoral rolls, by adding new voters who have turned 18 on October 1 or earlier in the
new voter lists, is likely to be completed on November 25.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) had already given a deadline of November 25 for the final date
for publication of electoral rolls in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The delimitation commission comprises of former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, Chief
Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra and J&K chief electoral officer KK Sharma.
The delimitation council was set up in March 2020 having five parliamentarians from the UT as associate
members.
The special status granted to J&K lapsed on August 5, 2019, when the Centre abrogated Article 370 of the
Constitution.
In an all-party meet in 2021, the PM had said that statehood will be restored after fresh elections are held
in the region, on the basis of the delimitation process.
Parties from the region remained bitterly opposed to the scrapping of its special status and have been
trying to restore statehood before delimitation and elections. This demand has been rejected by the
Centre.
Assembly seats in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir were last redrawn in 1995 based on the 1981
Census.