Can't snatch voting rights of encroachers: Uttarakhand HC to Dhami govt
panchayat elections
.
Emphasising that voting rights are protected under Article 326 of the Constitution, a single judge bench of Justice Ravindra Maithani said neither judicial nor govt authorities can withdraw these rights. HC was hearing a petition filed by a group of residents, including Bhajan Singh and others, from Anand Nagar in Udham Singh Nagar, against the deletion of their names from the voter list, though they had participated in previous elections.
The petitioners also argued that, as beneficiaries of the prime minister's housing scheme, their classification as encroachers was questionable. The bench directed the petitioners to present their case to the department concerned for resolution in accordance with the law. The court said that the petitioners may return to court if their representation remains unaddressed.
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Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
What will it take to restore J&K statehood
Six years after the Centre's unprecedented decision to reorganise the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir into two Union Territories — J&K and Ladakh — calls to restore statehood have been getting louder. Last month, J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah made a forceful plea to the Centre for restoring statehood. 'We're not asking for something that is not our due. Statehood is the right, it was promised to the people,' he had said on July 20. What would restoration of statehood mean for J&K? What would it take for that to happen? Statehood will empower CM The J&K Reorganisation Act was passed in Parliament on August 6, 2019. It gave the Centre, through the Lieutenant Governor, a heightened legislative role in J&K, and put the bureaucratic apparatus in the UT under the Union Home Minister. Both policing and public order were placed within control of the Centre. Subjects on the Concurrent List in the Constitution were taken off the plate of the legislative Assembly as well. The Act also barred the UT's legislature from introducing bills with any fiscal, monetary or taxation implications without the recommendation of the L-G. This is particularly limiting since virtually every policy decision requires taxation, expenditure or revenue adjustments. So a restoration of statehood would effectively empower the elected government in J&K and vastly reduce the powers of the L-G, who, according to Section 53 of the Reorganisation Act, has the 'final' say on almost every administrative and legislative decision. '…The decision of the Lieutenant Governor in his discretion shall be final, and the validity of anything done by the Lieutenant Governor shall not be called in question on the ground that he ought or ought not to have acted in his discretion…,' Section 53 states. Act of Parliament will be needed The J&K Reorganisation was without precedent — no state had ever been reduced to a UT before. But granting statehood would not be without precedent. Five UTs have previously been granted statehood by Parliament: Himachal Pradesh in 1971, Manipur and Tripura in 1972, and Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram in 1987. Additionally, the state of Goa was carved out of the then UT of Goa, Daman and Diu in 1987. For statehood to be restored to J&K, the Reorganisation Act would have to be repealed, and the Centre would have to introduce a fresh bill in Parliament, which then would have to be passed in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Article 3 of the Constitution empowers Parliament to form a new state out of the territory of any other state or UT, as well as to change the area or name of a state. But a bill to this effect can only be introduced on the recommendation of the President. Since the President acts only on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers — led by the Prime Minister — this essentially means that it is up to the Centre to recommend the introduction of the bill for restoration of statehood.
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Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
6 years of abrogation of Article 370: Why it matters and what has changed?
On August 5, 2019, India's Parliament witnessed a moment of historic consequence. Home Minister Amit Shah rose in the Rajya Sabha to introduce a resolution to abrogate Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) of its special constitutional status under Article 370. Moving the resolution, Shah had then said, 'There should not be a delay of even a second to remove Article 370 from the Constitution.' Simultaneously, the government imposed a complete communication blackout in Kashmir — shutting down the internet and telephone services. There was a heavy deployment of security forces, political leaders were detained, and Section 144 was imposed. Tracing the origins of Article 370 Article 370 originated from the special circumstances after India's partition in 1947. J&K acceded to India by signing the Instrument of Accession, with Maharaja Hari Singh as ruler. At that time, Sheikh Abdullah was appointed as the head of an interim government. Later, intense discussions between Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Sheikh Abdullah led to Article 370, which entered the Constitution in October 1949. What changed on August 5, 2019 On August 5, 2019, the government revoked Article 370 through a Presidential order and reorganised the state. J&K was split into two Union Territories (UTs): J&K (with legislature) and Ladakh (without legislature), effective October 31, 2019. The region was put under a strict security lockdown, with leaders from major political parties detained and communication suspended. As J&K was under President's Rule, the Centre acted through the Governor in the absence of an elected Assembly. Govt's justification for abrogation of Article 370 The union government justified the act on several grounds: • Security: To curb terrorism and separatism that plagued the valley. • The government believed Article 370 hindered Jammu and Kashmir's integration with the rest of India and limited its development. • Supporters argued its abrogation would promote socio-economic development. • They said it would help ensure equal rights and opportunities for the people of the region. • Better governance was another expected benefit cited by supporters. • The move was also seen as a way to apply national laws and programs that were earlier not fully enforceable in Jammu and Kashmir. Reactions and political fallout of the decision • Domestic: The ruling BJP and its allies celebrated the move as 'historic', while Congress, National Conference (NC), People's Democratic Party (PDP), and Left parties called it undemocratic. • International: Pakistan immediately condemned the move, calling it illegal and a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. The country argued that India's actions had 'no legal value' under international law, and insisted that Kashmir is an internationally recognised dispute, whose final status should be determined in accordance with UN resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people. China expressed its 'serious concern', particularly regarding the reorganisation of Ladakh as a Union Territory, saying that it undermined China's territorial sovereignty claims over parts of Ladakh. Legal challenges to abrogation of Article 370 Over 20 petitions challenged the Centre's move in the Supreme Court, raising critical questions: Can Article 370 be removed unilaterally by Parliament? Is the process under the President's Rule constitutional? The matter went to a five-judge Constitution Bench, which ultimately upheld the abrogation in December 2023, calling Article 370 a temporary provision. On the ground: What has changed? There have been both positive and negative developments. While the government claims improved law and order, incidents like targeted attacks in Pahalgam highlight ongoing security concerns. However, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said that the region's infrastructure development is not connected to the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019. Speaking to India Today TV, he urged people not to politicise development, adding, 'Let's not link the infrastructure projects in Jammu and Kashmir to the politics surrounding Article 370.' He clarified that these initiatives were planned earlier and would have progressed regardless of the constitutional change. On security, Abdullah acknowledged a drop in terrorism and stone-pelting but attributed it partly to strict government actions, which he said, 'go against the principles of natural justice". The road ahead for J&K Restoration of J&K's statehood remains a major demand. The Modi government has promised to restore it 'at the right time', but petitions in the Supreme Court urge faster action for statehood restoration, emphasising the need to uphold federal principles. Article 370's abrogation marked a turning point in India's constitutional history, with its full impact still unfolding across J&K.
India Today
an hour ago
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Why this August 5 is a big day for Amit Shah
"I am happy with the government's decision to revoke Article 370. It is a bold step towards strengthening national integration... I congratulate Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Home Minister Shri Amit Shah for this historic initiative," said LK Advani, BJP veteran and political mentor to both leaders, on August 5, 2019 — exactly five years ago — as the former deputy PM witnessed one of the BJP-Bharatiya Jana Sangh's long-cherished goals being fulfilled. August 5 this year has special significance for Shah. He overtakes Advani as the longest-serving Home Minister of India, a period that has witnessed several overhauls and 5, 2025, marks five years since that landmark move by the Centre, with Home Minister Shah at the spearhead, which was a major push towards national integration by attaining "one nation, one Constitution" comes even as speculations are rife that the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir might be restored, a move that may be seen as the culmination of the step towards national integration taken five years ago. If the buzz turns out to be true, it will mark the culmination of a journey for J&K. This even as Shah marks a record, and as the Home Minister oversaw the fight against terrorism in J&K, which was bifurcated and turned into two union territories — Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh — five years SHAH RESHAPED JAMMU AND KASHMIR WITH HIS HISTORIC ANNOUNCEMENTOn August 5, 2019, Home Minister Amit Shah announced in the Rajya Sabha the revocation of Article 370, a constitutional provision granting special status to Jammu and move fulfilled a long-standing BJP promise, championed by ideological figureheads like Syama Prasad Mookerjee and Advani, to "fully integrate" the region with in the Upper House, introduced the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019, issued by then President Ram Nath Kovind, which superseded the 1954 order and applied all provisions of the Indian Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir without presidential order used Article 370(3), which allowed the President to amend or repeal the article with the concurrence of the state's Constituent Assembly. With Jammu and Kashmir under President's Rule and no functioning state assembly, the Parliament assumed this role, enabling Shah to push through the resolution. Amit Shah took charge of the Union Home Ministry in 2019. The then-Union Home Secretary, Rajiv Gauba, is also seen in the picture. (Image: PIB) The Rajya Sabha passed it with 125 votes in favour and 61 against, followed by the Lok Sabha's approval with 370 votes for and 70 subsequent Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, also introduced by Shah, bifurcated the state into two Union Territories, Jammu and Kashmir with a legislature and Ladakh without SURPASSES ADVANI'S TENURE AS UNION HOME MINISTERAs of Tuesday, August 5, Amit Shah will have served as Home Minister for 2,194 days, surpassing LK Advani's record of 2,193 days across the latter's tenures from 1998 to 1999 and 1999 to the towering BJP leader, had long advocated for the revocation of Article often seen as Advani's protege, understood this vision but also brought it to fruition by turning the long-held ideological goal into Shah and Advani, Govind Ballabh Pant of the Congress remains the third longest-serving Home Minister with a tenure of over six years, while P Chidambaram held the post for nearly four years during the UPA 2019, Shah replaced LK Advani as the BJP candidate from the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, which the veteran leader had represented six times in the Lok Sabha. An old image of Amit Shah, Narendra Modi and LK Advani. The association of Advani and Shah goes back to the early 1990s, when the latter started working with the BJP in Gujarat. (Image: Social Media) advertisementSHAH'S MHA TIME: KASHMIR INTEGRATION, NAXAL CRACKDOWN, UCC PUSHThough the abrogation of Article 370 might be the biggest feather in Shah's crown, his tenure as the Union Home Minister has also been defined by several other achievements in internal security and legislative aggressive policies against left-wing extremism have drastically reduced Naxal violence. Incidents of deaths have dropped from 5,225 between 2009 and 2014 to under 600 between 2019 and tenure has also seen a 56% reduction in security personnel casualties from 2015 to 2019 because of left-wing zero-tolerance approach to terrorism has contributed to a 70% drop in terror-related deaths in Jammu and Kashmir during the NDA government, along with a significant decline in overall terror saw record tourist footfall, which became an eyesore for Pakistan, which disturbed normalcy in the Valley by pulling the trigger on innocent visitors in Pahalgam on April passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019 was another hallmark of Shah's tenure. It fast-tracked citizenship for persecuted non-Muslim minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. As Union Home Minister, under whose ministry the CRPF operates, Amit Shah has led efforts against terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgency in the Northeast, and Naxal violence in central India. (Image: Amit Shah/X) Shah also oversaw the abolition of triple talaq and the initiation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).Investments in police modernisation, with Rs 8,200 crore spent on technology between 2019–2024, have bolstered security Shah, as Union Home Minister, also played a key role in overhauling India's criminal justice system by spearheading the introduction of three landmark laws: the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) 2023. These replaced the colonial-era Indian Penal Code (IPC), Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), and Indian Evidence Act, Amit Shah's numerous achievements as Home Minister, the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur, festering since May 2023, remains a critical internal security challenge that demands action and is being attended by Shah to as a Amit Shah surpasses his mentor Advani to become the longest-serving Union Home Minister, his tenure stands out not just for milestones like the abrogation of Article 370, but for tangible shifts in internal security, legal reform, and ideological consolidation. By battling Naxals, overhauling criminal law, and pushing significant legislation like the CAA, Shah has left an indelible imprint in the country's democratic journey.- EndsTune InMust Watch
