Jammu and Kashmir delimitation challenge is rejected by the Supreme Court

Supreme Court dismisses appeal on J&K assembly and parliamentary seat boundaries.

The top court stated that its ruling on delimitation won't affect a different group of cases where Article 370's abrogation is being contested before a Constitution bench.

"Nothing in this judgement shall be regarded as granting imprimatur to the exercise of powers under Article 370," a bench of justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and AS Oka ruled. Both the repeal of Article 370, which granted J&K special status, and the division of J&K into the union territories of J&K and Ladakh are being contested before the Supreme Court in separate cases.

The bench declared, "We have stated that the Reorganisation Act question is currently before this Court and that we have not made any statements regarding the merits of the matter. If not, the petition is rejected."

The Modi administration informed the Supreme Court in December that the delimitation process for the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir could not be delayed until 2026 because the goal was to bring about rapid democracy in the area.

The new election plan for the UT was finalised on May 5 of last year, with 43 seats going to Jammu, which has a Hindu majority, and 47 seats going to Kashmir, which has a Muslim majority. As a result, the J&K Assembly's strength increased from 83 to 90.