11-05-2023 : Harsh Dev Singh, a former minister, has filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court of India seeking early Assembly Elections in Jammu and Kashmir. He has appealed to the court to issue directions to the Union of India and the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take immediate steps for restoration of the democratic process and revival of people’s government in the erstwhile state in consonance with the spirit of the Constitution and successive rulings of the top court of the country. The writ petition has been filed in the name of senior NPP leader Manju Singh, Des Raj Chairman Block Development Council Ramnagar, and Ashri Devi member DDC Udhampur.
Singh has raised various questions of law and of facts in support of his contentions to get the desired relief from the court. He stated that the matter was likely to be heard by the SC Bench within the next couple of days on the date to be fixed by the SC Registry. Singh averred that the Supreme Court on several occasions has held that Assembly Elections must be held within six months in all those States/UTs where Assemblies are pre-maturely dissolved.
Singh further pointed out that denying democratic government is a punishment to the people, as observed by the top court. “It is however shocking that the Assembly Elections continue to be denied in J&K on flimsy grounds only to enable the BJP to run the affairs of the Government in J&K through its chosen ones. J&K has been deprived of democratic Government for the last four years,” stated Singh. He added that creating a constitutional void, a hiatus situation for the constituencies, is unacceptable, as it is the people who eventually suffer in the absence of an elected representative to espouse their cause.
Singh’s writ petition is a significant step towards restoring democratic processes in Jammu and Kashmir, which has been under President’s rule since the dissolution of the state Assembly in 2018. This move comes amid growing demands from political parties and civil society organizations for early Assembly Elections in the region.