Supreme Court directs ECI to conduct Assembly polls of J&K by 30 September 2024

On December 11th, 2023, the Supreme Court of India issued a directive to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to conduct elections for the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir by September 30, 2024. 

"We direct that steps shall be taken by the Election Commission of India to conduct elections to the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir by 30 September 2024," says CJI reading judgement in Article 370 matter.

This decision comes after a series of legal and political developments concerning the region's autonomy and its integration into the Indian Union.

The backdrop of this directive is the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, which revoked the special status previously granted to Jammu and Kashmir under the Indian Constitution. This move led to the bifurcation of the state into two Union Territories: Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. 

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The last assembly elections in the region were held in November-December 2014, resulting in a coalition government formed by the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party, with Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as the Chief Minister until his death on January 7, 2016.

The Supreme Court's order reinforces the court's stance that Article 370 was a temporary provision and that the President of India had the authority to revoke it. The court also upheld the validity of the decision to create the Union Territory of Ladakh separate from Jammu and Kashmir. Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, writing the judgment, emphasized that Jammu and Kashmir's accession to India, ratified by the state's Constituent Assembly on February 6, 1954, made it an integral part of the country, as evidenced by Articles 1 and 370 of the Indian Constitution.

The Supreme Court's direction for the ECI to hold assembly elections by the end of September 2024 is a significant step towards restoring democratic processes in the region. It follows the urging of the court for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood at the earliest possible time. The ECI is now tasked with ensuring that the electoral process is conducted smoothly, paving the way for the establishment of a new legislative body in the Union Territory.