The Supreme Court of India, on Monday, dismissed a petition which challenged the delimitation exercise carried out for redrawing the Legislative Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies in Jammu Kashmir.
The petition was filed by two Srinagar residents-Haji Abdul Gani Khan and Mohammed Ayoub Mattoo.
On March 6, 2020, the Union Ministry of Law and Justice (Legislative Department) issued a notification constituting a Delimitation Commission, with former Supreme Court judge (Retd) Ranjana Prakash Desai as the chairperson.
The exercise missed several deadlines, which were extended and was finally completed on May 5, 2022, when the delimitation panel unveiled its final order, despite reservations by Jammu and Kashmir-based politicians and locals.
They petitioners had submitted that the Delimitation Commission does not have the power to carry out the exercise as under Section 9(1) (b) of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1950 and Section 11(1) (b) of the Delimitation Act 2022, the power vested on the Election Commission is to update the Delimitation order by making the necessary changes on account of subsequent events and the said power cannot change boundaries or areas or extent of any constituency by way of any notification.