"J&K Statehood Delay Deepens Democratic Deficit, Separating Authority from Accountability"
Union Territory with Legislature
A UT where Parliament has created a legislative assembly, but the Centre retains overriding authority via the Lieutenant Governor.
Article 370
Constitutional provision that accorded J&K special autonomous status; effectively abrogated via Presidential Order under Article 370(3) in 2019.
Jammu and Kashmir's constitutional transformation began with The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which bifurcated the erstwhile state into two Union Territories: Jammu and Kashmir (with a legislature) and Ladakh (without a legislature). This reorganisation was accompanied by the effective abrogation of Article 370, which had accorded J&K a special autonomous status — including its own constitution, a separate flag, and a distinct constitutional relationship with the Union. Presidential Orders issued under Article 370(3) rendered all provisions of the Indian Constitution applicable to J&K, dissolving the constitutional architecture that had governed the region since 1949.
The distinction between a state and a Union Territory with legislature is constitutionally significant and directly relevant to the statehood debate. Under the Seventh Schedule, states exercise legislative authority over subjects in the State List and share power with the Union over the Concurrent List. A Union Territory with a legislature — such as J&K or Delhi — does not possess equivalent autonomy: the Union government retains overriding authority, and the Lieutenant Governor exercises powers that a Governor in a full state does not. This structural asymmetry is the core of the democratic deficit argument.
The Supreme Court's Constitution Bench, in its December 2023 judgment, upheld the abrogation of Article 370 as constitutionally valid. Crucially, however, it also recorded the Union government's commitment to restore statehood to J&K at the 'uchit samay' (appropriate time) and directed that Assembly elections be held by September 2024. Those elections were duly conducted, returning an elected government — yet without the restoration of statehood.
The constitutional architecture governing Union Territories is fundamentally different from that of states. Under Article 239, the President administers Union Territories through an administrator (designated as Lieutenant Governor in J&K and Delhi). Even where Parliament has granted a UT a legislature — as under Article 239A — the scope of that legislature's authority is circumscribed. The Lieutenant Governor is not a constitutional figurehead equivalent to a Governor; the LG retains independent discretion over a range of subjects, and in cases of conflict between the elected Council of Ministers and the LG, the matter is referred to the President.
This contrasts sharply with the position of states, where the Governor acts on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers in virtually all matters, as affirmed by the Supreme Court in S.R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994) and reinforced in subsequent judgments. …
Which one of the following is not a feature of Indian federalism?
Local self-government can be best explained as an exercise in
We have adopted parliamentary democracy based on the British model, but how does our model differ from that model?
1.As regards legislation, the British Parliament is supreme or sovereign, but in India, the power of the Parliament to make laws is limited.
2.In India, matters related to the constitutionality of the Amendment of an Act of the Parliament are referred to the Constitution Bench by the Supreme Court.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Consider the following statements regarding the constitutional distinction between a State and a Union Territory with Legislature in India:
1.A State legislature can make laws on subjects in the State List, while a Union Territory legislature's authority over State List subjects may be restricted by Parliament.
2.The Lieutenant Governor of a Union Territory with Legislature is constitutionally equivalent to the Governor of a State in all matters.
3.Article 239A empowers Parliament to create a legislature and/or Council of Ministers for a Union Territory.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
With reference to the Supreme Court's Constitution Bench judgment on Article 370 delivered in December 2023, which of the following is/are correct?
1.The Court upheld the abrogation of Article 370 as constitutionally valid.
2.The Court directed that Assembly elections in J&K be held by September 2024.
3.The Court ordered the immediate restoration of statehood to J&K.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Assertion (A): Federalism is a basic feature of the Indian Constitution and cannot be abrogated even by a constitutional amendment.
Reason (R): The Supreme Court in S.R. Bommai v. Union of India held that the federal character of the Constitution is part of its basic structure.
Which of the following is the correct answer?
Which of the following correctly describes the mechanism by which Article 370 was effectively abrogated in 2019?
The 'democratic deficit' argument regarding J&K's Union Territory status is primarily based on which of the following constitutional realities?
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