Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019

Topic: Special Provisions, Scheduled and Tribal Areas · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 7 "Federalism"; Class 12, Ch 7 "Regional Aspirations"

Meaning

The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019 is a law Parliament made under Articles 3 and 4. It split the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories (UTs) from 31 October 2019. The UT of Jammu and Kashmir has a legislature. The UT of Ladakh (Leh and Kargil districts) does not [2].

• It matters because J&K became the first full state to be turned into UTs.
• The Supreme Court left one question open: can Article 3 be used to turn a whole state into a UT? This makes the Act a key federalism issue for both Prelims and Mains.

Explanation

How the Act fits into the August 2019 sequence

The Act was the last step of four. It did not remove Article 370. Article 370 was handled separately by presidential orders.

Background: the J&K assembly had been dissolved. President's rule had been in force since December 2018. President's rule (Article 356) means the Union government takes over the running of a state for a time, and Parliament makes the state's laws. So in 2019 J&K had no elected government and no legislature.

1. C.O. 272 (5 August 2019), under Art. 370(1)(d): - It applied the whole Constitution to J&K and replaced the 1954 order. - It also added a clause to Art. 367 (the interpretation clause), so that "Constituent Assembly" in Art. 370(3) would read "Legislative Assembly". - The Governor gave consent in place of the state government.

2. Statutory resolutions (5–6 August 2019): both Houses of Parliament, acting in place of the dissolved state assembly, recommended that Art. 370 be made inoperative.

3. C.O. 273 (6 August 2019), under Art. 370(3): it declared all clauses of Art. 370 inoperative, except a changed clause (1).
4. J&K Reorganisation Act 2019, under Arts. 3–4: it split the state into two UTs. - Passed by the Rajya Sabha on 5 August 2019 and the Lok Sabha on 6 August 2019 [2].

How Article 3 works:

• Parliament can create new states or UTs, or change state boundaries, by a simple majority (more than half of the members present and voting).
• The bill needs the President's recommendation.
• The President must first send the bill to the state legislature for its views. Parliament does not have to follow those views.
• In 2019, those "views" also came from Parliament, because the state legislature did not exist.

The two Union territories

Feature	UT of Jammu and Kashmir	UT of Ladakh
Legislature	Yes. Follows the Art. 239A model (Parliament may create a legislature for a UT, as it did for Puducherry)	No. Run directly by the Union
Head	Lieutenant Governor (LG), appointed by the President	Lieutenant Governor
Area	Jammu and Kashmir divisions	Leh and Kargil [2]
High Court	Shared High Court of J&K and Ladakh [2]	Shared

Main provisions of the 2019 Act

• Assembly size: 107 seats. Of these, 24 are for Pakistan-occupied J&K (PoJK) and stay vacant, which leaves 83 seats that can be filled [2].
• Women nominees: the LG may nominate two women if women are not adequately represented in the Assembly [2].
• LG's powers:
• The LG acts on the advice of the Council of Ministers, but only on subjects the Assembly can make laws on.

• Police and public order stay with the LG.

• Legislative Council abolished: the state's upper House was abolished, and bills pending there lapsed [2].

• Laws:
• 106 central laws were extended to J&K.
• 153 state laws were repealed and 166 were kept.
• Some laws were amended, for example to remove limits on leasing land [2].

Later changes to the Act

• Delimitation (May 2022): delimitation means redrawing the boundaries of election constituencies. The Commission was chaired by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai.
• It fixed 90 seats: Jammu 43, Kashmir 47.
• It reserved 9 seats for STs and 7 for SCs.

• The 24 PoJK seats stay vacant [5].

• J&K Reorganisation (Amendment) Act 2023:

• Seats went from 83 to 90, SC seats from 6 to 7, and there are 9 ST seats for the first time [3][4].
• The LG may nominate up to two Kashmiri migrants, and one must be a woman [3].
• A "migrant" is a person who left the Valley or any other part of the state after 1 November 1989 and is registered with the Relief Commissioner [3].

• The LG may also nominate one person displaced from PoJK [3].

• J&K Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill 2025: introduced on 20 August 2025 and sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee the same day [6].

• It would remove a minister, or the Chief Minister, who is arrested and held for 30 days in a row on charges carrying 5 or more years in prison.
• The removal would take effect from the 31st day.
• A removed minister could be reappointed after release [6].

In the Constitution and practice

• Constitutional basis: Articles 3 and 4 (forming states or UTs and changing them by ordinary law). The J&K UT's legislature follows the Art. 239A model.
• Correcting NCERT: the Class 12 textbook says Art. 370 was "abolished by the Reorganisation Act". That is wrong.
• The text of Art. 370 is still in the Constitution.
• C.O. 272 and C.O. 273 made it inoperative.

• The Act only split the state.

• What followed in 2020:

• Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India (2020): speech and trade over the internet are protected by Art. 19. Any shutdown must be proportionate (no wider than needed), and shutdown orders must be published and reviewed.

• Domicile rules: these replaced "permanent resident" status (the old Art. 35A) with domicile (legal residence based on conditions such as years lived in the UT). Domicile now decides access to jobs and other benefits.

• In re Article 370 of the Constitution (11 December 2023): a five-judge Constitution Bench gave a unanimous decision [4].

• Ladakh UT upheld: Art. 3 allows a UT to be carved out of a state.
• State to UT left open: the Court did not decide whether Art. 3 allows a whole state to become a UT. It relied on the Union's promise to restore statehood "at the earliest" [4].
• Elections: it directed the Election Commission to hold Assembly elections by 30 September 2024 [4].
• Parliament during President's rule: Parliament can use the state legislature's powers both to make laws and for non-law-making acts [4].

• Art. 367 route: held invalid, because it was an amendment in disguise that skipped Art. 368. Still, C.O. 273 was held valid.

• Working in practice (2024):

• Assembly elections were held in September–October 2024, with results on 8 October 2024 [5].
• Seats won: NC 42, BJP 29, Congress 6, Independents 7 [5].
• President's rule was revoked on 13 October 2024. Omar Abdullah's government took office on 16 October 2024.
• Statehood has not been restored (check for current status). There is also friction over the LG's powers and the 2024 changes to the business rules (the rules on who decides which government matters).

Don't confuse with

• Abrogation of Article 370: this was done by presidential orders C.O. 272 and C.O. 273 under Art. 370. The Reorganisation Act only split the state, using Arts. 3–4.
• Article 239AA (Delhi): Delhi's legislature has its own special article. The J&K UT's legislature follows the general Art. 239A model (the one used for Puducherry).
• Article 35A: a provision protecting "permanent residents" of J&K. It stopped working because C.O. 272 applied the whole Constitution, not because of the Act.
• Constitutional amendment (Art. 368): needs a special majority. A reorganisation under Art. 3 is an ordinary law passed by simple majority, and Art. 4 says it is not an amendment for the purposes of Art. 368.

Prelims Hooks

• Act and Articles: the Reorganisation Act was passed under Arts. 3–4. Appointed day: 31 October 2019. It was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 5 August and the Lok Sabha on 6 August 2019 [2].
• Which UT has a legislature? J&K UT: yes (Art. 239A model). Ladakh (Leh and Kargil): no. The two UTs share one High Court [2].
• Legislative Council: the state's Legislative Council was abolished by the 2019 Act [2].
• Seats: first 107 (with 24 PoJK, so 83 fillable) [2]. After delimitation (May 2022, chaired by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai): 90 seats (Jammu 43, Kashmir 47), 9 ST and 7 SC, plus 24 PoJK seats left vacant [5].
• 2023 Amendment: the LG nominates 2 Kashmiri migrants (one a woman; migrated after 1 November 1989) and 1 person displaced from PoJK [3].
• Trap: In re Article 370 (2023) upheld the Ladakh UT but did not decide whether Art. 3 allows a whole state to be turned into a UT [4].

Mains Points

• Consent while under President's rule:
• In 2019, the Art. 3 "views" of the state legislature came from Parliament, and the state government's "consent" came from the Governor. In effect, the Union consented to itself.

• Possible reform: require an elected state legislature before any Art. 3 change to a state's status, and limit Parliament's non-law-making powers under Art. 356(1)(b).

• Downgrading a state to a UT:

• Because the Court left the question open, a future government could use Art. 3 plus President's rule to downgrade any state.
• This weakens federalism, which is part of the basic structure (core features Parliament cannot destroy), as held in S.R. Bommai (1994).

• Remedies: restore statehood quickly, as the Union promised the Court, and set out the LG's powers clearly, as Art. 239AA does for Delhi.

• Representation design:

• Gains: the Act and its amendments brought in ST seats for the first time, nominated seats for migrants and people displaced from PoJK, and future one-third reservation for women [3][4].
• Concerns: LG-nominated members could tip the balance in a close House. Critics also question whether the Jammu 43 – Kashmir 47 split matches population.
• On integration: supporters point to uniform laws such as SC/ST rights, RTE and OBC reservation (2023) [4]. Critics point to broken trust and fears about the negotiated arrangements in Art. 371.

Related concepts

• Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order 2019
• In re Article 370 case

Read more

• The 2019 changes, the Reorganisation Act and In re Article 370 (2023)