SC approves appointment of J&K delimitation panel

The Supreme Court ruled that the Center's decision to appoint the Delimitation Commission of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir was lawful, and that it was also legal to delimit the parliamentary and assembly constituencies based on the results of the 2011 census.
The petition contesting the delimitation exercise was dismissed by a bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Abhay S. Oka on a number of grounds, but they made it clear that the petition did not address the legality of the Centre's decision to revoke Article 370's provisions on August 5, 2019, relating to the special status granted to Jammu & Kashmir, which is currently before the Supreme Court.
“There is absolutely no merit in any of the contentions raised by the petitioners. We may, however, clarify that the findings rendered in the judgment are on the footing that the exercise of power made in the year 2019 under clauses (1) and (3) of Article 370 of the Constitution is valid. We are aware that the issue of the validity of the exercise of the said powers is the subject matter of petitions pending before this Court. Therefore, we have not dealt with the issue of validity. Nothing stated in this judgment shall be construed as giving our imprimatur to the exercise of powers under clauses (1) and (3) of Article 370 of the Constitution,” the bench said. The court ruled that "there is no illegality associated with the establishment of the Delimitation Commission under the impugned Order dated March 6, 2020" and that it would be acceptable for the Central Government to extend the Chairperson's appointment until the delimitation/readjustment task was finished.