Union territory status of Jammu and Kashmir is not permanent thing: Centre tells SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Centre told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that the union territory status of Jammu and Kashmir is not a "permanent thing" and that it will make an elaborate statement on the vexatious political issue in the court on August 31.
The central government's response was conveyed to the court by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, after a five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, hearing the pleas challenging the abrogation of Article 370, asked it to set a specific time frame for restoration of electoral democracy in the erstwhile state.
"The union territory status of Jammu and Kashmir is not a permanent thing. So far as Ladakh is concerned, its UT status is going to remain for some time," Mehta said.
The top government law officer said he will make an elaborate statement on the future of the union territory status of J-K and Ladakh before the bench, which also comprises Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai and Surya Kant, on August 31.
The bench, which was hearing Mehta's submissions defending the Centre's decision to do away with the special status of the former state and its reorganisation, said, "Democracy is important, although we agree that in view of the national security scenario, reorganisation of the state can be done."
The court, however, said lack of electoral democracy cannot be allowed to go on indefinitely.
"This has to come an end... give us the specific time frame as to when will you restore actual democracy. We want to record this," the bench said, and asked Mehta and Attorney General R Venkataramani to seek instructions from the political executive and get back to the court.
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Man accused of rape-murder of 5-year-old lynched to death in Bengal; Girl’s body found in pond
Alipurduar: A 40-year-old man accused of raping and murdering a five-year-old girl was allegedly tied to a tree and beaten to death by agitated locals in Alipurduar district located in West Bengal on Friday evening. Later, another man surrendered before the police claiming he was also involved in the crime, and was subsequently arrested.
The girl went missing on Friday evening. When her family began searching for the girl, they learned that she had last been seen with Mona Roy, as reported by the Indian Express.
The police said that the girl’s body was found floating in a local pond. They added that the locals caught Roy and took him to his residence where they allegedly noticed blood on the bed. Enraged by this, they tied Roy to a tree and started assaulting him.
Roy was beaten to death before the local police could reach the spot.
When the police arrived at the scene, angry locals prevented them from moving the two bodies. Eventually, a large team of police personnel was sent to the location. After two hours, they were able to remove the bodies from the area.
The bodies have been sent for a post-mortem examination.
Meanwhile, a man named Bhakta Roy approached the police, claiming that he was involved in the crime and feared for his safety from the angry mob. He was subsequently arrested.
Y. Raghuvanshi, Superintendent of Police, Alipurduar, asserted it is a heinous crime, adding that they have started a detailed investigation in connection to the incident.
