Article 370 case: Ready for election but cannot give timeframe, says Centre

Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta said that the exact timeframe for the conduct of elections cannot be provided as there are repeated law and order disturbances in the Valley

The Union Government on Thursday informed the Supreme Court (SC) that it cannot give an exact timeline for restoring Jammu and Kashmir's statehood but is ready to conduct elections.

It also said that the Union Territory status of Jammu and Kashmir is temporary.

Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta said that the exact timeframe for elections cannot be provided as there are repeated law and order disturbances in the Valley. However, he said that substantial progress has been made to restore statehood.

"The government is ready for elections. It is for the Election Commission of India and the Election Commission of State to take the call", Mehta said.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioners, opposed the statistics provided by the Centre on the status of normalcy in the Valley.

Sibal said, "If you have 5,000 people under house arrest and 144 throughout the state, there can be no bandh. My request is do not enter into the arena because we would have to counter it with all kinds of facts."

Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud said that the challenge will be decided based on constitutional arguments and not on the statistics presented by the Centre.

The CJI had earlier asked Mehta to take instructions from the Union government on whether there is a definite timeline for restoring Jammu and Kashmir's statehood.

The court had said that the wide gap between the absolute autonomy of J&K as it existed on January 26, 1950, and its integration, as brought about on August 5, 2019, had been bridged in the interim period.

The CJI said, "...It is obvious that a substantial degree of integration had already taken place between 1950 to 2019 — in 69 years. And therefore, what was done in 2019, was it really a logical step forward to achieve that integration?"