Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly
12th Jammu and Kashmir Assembly
(Dissolved)
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Term limits
5 years
History
Founded1957
Preceded byJammu and Kashmir Constituent Assembly
Leadership
Speaker
Vacant
since 31 October 2019
Deputy Speaker
Vacant
since 31 October 2019
Leader of the House
(Chief Minister)
Vacant
since 31 October 2019
Deputy Leader of the House (Deputy Chief Minister)
Vacant
since 31 October 2019
Leader of the Opposition
Vacant
since 31 October 2019
Seats114 (90 seats + 24 seats reserved for Pakistan administered Kashmir) + 5 Nominated
Elections
First past the post
Last election
25 November to 20 December 2014
Next election
September 2024 (expected)
Website
jkla.neva.gov.in

The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, also known as the Jammu and Kashmir Vidhan Sabha is the legislature of Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir was dissolved by the Governor on 21 November 2018.[1]

Prior to 2019, the State of Jammu and Kashmir had a bicameral legislature with a legislative assembly (lower house) and a legislative council (upper house). The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, passed by the Parliament of India in August 2019, replaced this with a unicameral legislature while also re-organising the state into a union territory.

History

Praja Sabha

The first legislature of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, called the Praja Sabha, was established by the government of the Maharaja Hari Singh in 1934.[2] It had 33 elected seats, 30 nominated members and 12 ex-officio members.[3]

The first election in 1934 saw the Liberal Group headed by Pandit Ram Chander Dubey emerge as the largest party and the Muslim Conference as the second largest (with 14 seats).[4] Further elections were held in 1938 and 1947.

In 1939, the Muslim Conference party renamed itself to National Conference under the leadership of Sheikh Abdullah and opened its membership to people of all religions. It launched a Quit Kashmir movement in 1946 and boycotted the 1947 election.[5]

Post-accession

Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly in 2010

After the accession of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir to the Union of India in 1947, the Maharaja ceded powers to a popular government headed by Sheikh Abdullah. Elections for a constituent assembly were held in 1951, in which Abdullah's National Conference won all 75 seats.

In 1957, a new constitution was adopted by the constituent assembly, which established a bicameral legislature consisting of an upper house, the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council and a lower house, the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.[6]

Revocation of Article 370 and reorganisation of state

In 2019, Article 370 of the Constitution of India, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was abrogated[7] and Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act was passed to reconstitute the state of Jammu and Kashmir into union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh with effect from 31 October 2019.[8] The union territory of Jammu and Kashmir has a unicameral Legislative Assembly. The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council was formally abolished on 16 October 2019.[9][10]

In March 2019, a three-member Delimitation Commission was formed, chaired by retired Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, for the delimitation of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.[11] The commission published its interim report in February 2022.[12] The final delimitation report was released on 5 May 2022[13] and it came into force from 20 May 2022.[14]

Composition

The Legislative Assembly was initially composed of 100 members, later increased to 111 by the then Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir (Twentieth Amendment) Act of 1988.[6] Of these, 24 seats were designated for the territorial constituencies of the state that came under Pakistani control in 1947.[6] These seats remained officially vacant as per section 48 of the then state constitution and now also in The Constitution of India.[6] These seats were not taken into account for reckoning the total membership of the assembly, especially for deciding quorum and voting majorities for legislation and government formation.[6] Hence the total contestable and filled seats of the assembly were 87 seats. The Kashmir valley region had 46 seats, the Jammu region had 37 seats, and Ladakh region had 4 seats.

State reorganisation and Delimitation

Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act was passed to reconstitute the state of Jammu and Kashmir into union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.[8] In March 2020, Delimitation Commission was formed for the delimitation of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir prior to the next Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election.[11] The delimitation report added additional 6 seats to the Jammu division and 1 seat to Kashmir division. After delimitation, the total seats in the assembly rose to 114 seats, out of which 24 seats are designated for areas that fall under Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. Out of the remaining 90 seats, 43 seats are in Jammu division and 47 seats are in the Kashmir division.[13]

Reservation for SC/STs

The parliament passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill 2023 which provides for reservation of 7 seats for the Scheduled Castes and 9 seats for the Scheduled Tribes.[15][16]

Provisions for Nominated Members

Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 provides for nomination of 2 members to the Legislative Assembly by the Lieutenant Governor if women are not adequately represented in the house.[17]

Following amendment to the Act in 2023, the Lieutenant Governor may nominate two representatives of Kashmiri migrant families (one seat reserved for woman) and one member to represent the migrants from Pakistan occupied Kashmir.[18]

Tenure and functions

Members of the Legislative Assembly were elected for a six-year term up to 2019 and five-year term thereafter. The seats are filled by direct election from single member constituencies using the first past the post method. The assembly may be dissolved before the completion of the full term by the Lieutenant Governor upon the advice of the Chief Minister. The Lieutenant Governor may also convene special sessions of the legislative assembly.

Membership by party

The assembly is currently dissolved.

Office bearers

Source:[19]

  • Speaker: Vacant
  • Chief Minister: Vacant
  • Leader of Opposition : Vacant
  • Secretary: Manoj Kumar Pandit

Members of Legislative Assembly

The assembly is currently dissolved.

Attack on the State Assembly Complex

On 1 October 2001, armed terrorists belonging to Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist group carried out an attack on the Jammu and Kashmir State Legislative Assembly Complex in Srinagar using a car bomb and three suicide bombers.[20][21]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Amid contrasting claims, J&K Governor dissolves Assembly". The Hindu. 21 November 2018. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  2. ↑ "Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly". National Informatics Centre. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  3. ↑ Rai, Mridu (2004), Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects: Islam, Rights, and the History of Kashmir, C. Hurst & Co, p. 274, ISBN 1850656614
  4. ↑ Copland, Ian (1981), "Islam and Political Mobilization in Kashmir, 1931-34", Pacific Affairs, 54 (2): 228–259, doi:10.2307/2757363, JSTOR 2757363
  5. ↑ Choudhary, Dipti, "The Constitutional Development in the State of Jammu and Kashmir" (PDF), State autonomy under indian constitution a study with reference to the state of jammu and kashmir, Kurukhsetra University/Shodhganga, pp. 60, 69, hdl:10603/32675
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir" (PDF).
  7. ↑ "President declares abrogation of provisions of Article 370". The Hindu. PTI. 7 August 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 27 June 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. 1 2 "President Kovind gives assent to J&K Reorganisation Bill, two new UTs to come into effect from Oct 31". The Indian Express. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  9. ↑ "J&K administration orders abolition of legislative council, asks its staff to report to GAD". Financial express. PTI. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  10. ↑ "Abolition of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council in terms of Section 57 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019" (pdf). jkgad.nic.in. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  11. 1 2 "Delimitation of Constituencies in Jammu-Kashmir, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland - Notification dated 06.03.2020 - Delimitation - Election Commission of India". eci.gov.in. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  12. ↑ "Many seats redrawn in J&K delimitation draft". The Hindu. 5 February 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  13. 1 2 "The Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation report". The Hindu. 9 May 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  14. ↑ "Orders of J&K Delimitation Commission take effect". Hindustan Times. 21 May 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  15. ↑ "Parliament passes J-K Reservation, J-K Reorganisation (Amendment) Bills". The Economic Times. 12 December 2023. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  16. ↑ "Rajya Sabha passes J&K Bills on reservation, Assembly representation". Moneycontrol. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  17. ↑ "What is the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019?". Jagranjosh.com. 14 March 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  18. ↑ "Parliament passes J-K reservation and reorganisation amendment bills: Know all about them". www.indiatvnews.com. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  19. ↑ "Home | Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly". jkla.neva.gov.in. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  20. ↑ Fidayeen storm J&K House, kill 29, The Tribune, 2001-10-02
  21. ↑ Praveen Swami (13 October 2001). "An Audacious Strike". Frontline. Archived from the original on 28 November 2001.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

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