Revision summary
The 2019 Act replaced the State legislature with a J&K UT Assembly and a legislature-less Ladakh. The House legislates on assigned State and Concurrent subjects; police and public order stay with the Union. A Council of Ministers is responsible to the Assembly; the LG holds discretionary pockets. In Re Article 370 (2023) upheld abrogation and pointed back to statehood. 2024 elections revived the Assembly as a working UT legislature, not yet a full State Vidhan Sabha.
Model answer
Introduction
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, ended the State legislature that had sat under the old Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir. In its place it created a Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir with a Legislative Assembly and a Union Territory of Ladakh without one. The Assembly that now exists is a UT legislature, closer to Puducherry than to a full State Vidhan Sabha, until Parliament restores statehood.
Body
Nature after 2019
The 2019 Act split the State, applied the Indian Constitution more fully, and provided for a unicameral Assembly for the J&K UT. Seats were rebased (the Act envisaged 114 after delimitation, with 24 still notionally related to Pakistan-occupied areas remaining vacant in practice as before). Delimitation (2022) produced 90 elected seats for the UT, plus the power to nominate women members in specified circumstances. Public order and police were not left with the Assembly in the manner of a full State; they sit with the Union, as is typical when a UT is carved for security-sensitive reasons. The Lieutenant Governor is the Centre’s officer, with a Council of Ministers to aid and advise except where the Act gives the LG discretion — a structure that invites the same tensions the Court has parsed for NCT of Delhi (Government of NCT of Delhi v. Union of India), though the statutory text for J&K is its own.
This is not the old J&K Constituent Assembly, and not a Sixth Schedule council. It is an ordinary UT legislature created by Parliament under Article 3 read with Union Territory provisions.
Powers and functions
The Assembly makes laws for the UT on State List and Concurrent List matters, with the carve-outs in the 2019 Act (notably police and public order). Money bills and the budget still need the executive’s initiative. It scrutinises the Council of Ministers, who are collectively responsible to it. It can debate, committee-examine, and recommend. It does not control the army, external affairs, or the Union List. Land and local government remain live political subjects inside the UT list as assigned.
The LG’s reference, assent and occasional direct rule (President’s / Governor’s style administration when the Assembly is not in place) marked 2019–2024. In Re: Article 370 (December 2023) upheld the abrogation of the special provision and said statehood should be restored. Assembly elections in 2024 returned a popular House, so the 2019 design is now a working legislature under a promise of statehood, not a vacant section of an Act.
- Functions on the ground: law-making for schools, health, local roads and the civil secretariat subjects; calling the government to account; and voicing regional claims (jobs, land, displaced persons) that a purely nominated administration could not.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD A[2019 Act] --> J[UT J&K with Assembly] A --> L[UT Ladakh no House] J --> LG[Lieutenant Governor] J --> M[Ministers to the House] S[SC 2023] --> ST[Statehood to be restored]
Conclusion
After 2019 the J&K House is a Union Territory Assembly with law-making minus police and public order, under a Lieutenant Governor. The 2023 judgment and the 2024 elections have put a people-backed legislature back in Srinagar, while full statehood remains Parliament’s next constitutional step.
Quick related
Students also ask
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Women's social capital complements in advancing empowerment and gender equity. Explain.
Next question on this syllabus topic (2025 · Q6). View answer →
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Is the J&K Assembly the same as Delhi’s?
Both are UT legislatures under a Union officer. The statutes differ. Delhi’s fights over services are not a copy-paste of the 2019 J&K Act.
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Did 2024 elections restore the old State?
They restored an elected House for the UT. Statehood still needs a parliamentary political decision the Court has urged.
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