Is it Legal to ‘Downgrade’ a State into a UT?

By NSoJ Bureau

Can Centre convert a state into a UT? Is this ‘downgrading’? Will this change be temporary or a permanent move? These were the issues that Malavika Prasad, columnist, advocate and Constitutional law scholar, addressed at the National School of Journalism (NsoJ), Bangalore.

Article 370 and Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) have been in the limelight for a while now. The Centre on Aug 6 announced that the state of Jammu and Kashmir would be split into two Union territories: J&K and Ladakh. According to news reports, J&K will be an UT temporarily and get statehood once the situation is stable and under control. Ladakh will remain a UT permanently. While there are speculations about the abolition of Article 370 itself, there are many unanswered questions relating to the bifurcation of the state as well.

Referring to the constitutional aspects involved, Ms. Prasad said that Article 3 of the Indian Constitution provides all rights for the Centre to reorganise states. But she also pointed out: "It is different for J&K, when compared to other states. Owing to the special status it has as a virtue of Article 370, Parliament needs the consent of the state's Legislative Assembly as compared to mere consultation." However, if Article 370 is abolished, J&K loses its special status and according to the Presidential order of Aug 5, the Indian Constitution applies to J&K in an unmodified manner. Ms. Prasad feels that this provides for clever maneuvering and makes the reorganisation of J&K similar to that of any other state in the country. "The nearest comparison would be Delhi, which was converted from a Part C state into a UT in the late 1950s," she said. The difference between ‘downgrading’ other states to UTs and that of J&K is that, all the others were done through constitutional amendments under Articles 239 and 239 (A) while the J&K conversion was done by a law, which can be passed by a brute parliamentary majority, she added.

Henceforth:

● J&K will now have a Lt. Governor in place of a Governor, as representation from the Union government.

● Parliament will have the right to override any decisions made by the J&K state Legislature.

Petitions opposing the drastic move by the Centre have already been filed at the Supreme Court. Will the State of J&K stand the partition? How will governance change? Will the democratic rights of people be curtailed? These are questions that remain.

“I don’t know if my family is safe in Kashmir”

A Kashmiri student on life after the abrogation of Article 370

My name is Fiza (name changed on request), I am from Kashmir but currently studying in a college in Bangalore. Following the Indian governments decision to scrap Article 370, there is a communication shutdown. I last spoke with my parents on August 4. I have not been able to contact them since. There are many Kashmiri students like me who are unable to contact their loved ones. I understand the need for an Internet shutdown with the rise of fake news, but what happens if we need to reach out to our families, urgently?

My parents were allowed to contact me using a satellite phone made available to them at the local police station. They told me they were fine and gave me their blessing for Eid. But they could not tell me anything about the situation in the state as the call was only for two minutes. (That was the time allowed to them).

I know the abrogation of Article 370 is being celebrated in the rest of the country but it is a difficult situation for my family and many other families like ours, living in the state. Also, communication shutdowns are not new to Kashmir. I have been told that this is the 51 st time this year that such a situation has happened in Jammu and Kashmir. But isn’t this very much like the Emergency India faced years ago? Shouldn’t it be a matter of concern for all Indians and not just us, Kashmiris?

The communication shutdown in Jammu and Kashmir has not just affected families like Fiza’s but also prevented journalists in the state from reporting or filing their stories. According to the website, The Leaflet, the executive editor of Kashmir Times filed a writ petition in the Supreme court on August 10, seeking directions to ensure that the State creates an enabling environment for journalists and media personnel in Jammu and Kashmir to practice their profession.

(As told to NSoJ bureau)