The Supreme Court on Wednesday set aside the August 5 notification of the election department for the Ladakh hill council polls and directed the issuance of a fresh notification within seven days for the same. The now quashed notification said that the polls for 26 seats of the 30-member LAHDC, Kargil, were scheduled for September 10 and the counting of votes was to take place four days later.
A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Ahsanuddin Amanullah also dismissed the plea by the Ladakh administration opposing the allotment of 'plough' symbol to the National Conference and imposed a cost of Rs 1 lakh on it. Omar Abdullah, vice president of JKNC, welcomed the Court’s order, and stated that the party “got the verdict we wanted and deserved”.
“Our symbol, the plough, has been given to us by the Hon Supreme Court earlier this morning. The BJP, ably assisted by a totally biased Ladakh administration, did everything possible to deny us our right. The court saw through this and penalised them with ₹1 lakh costs imposed on them. Congratulations to @JkncKargil and a huge thank you to @ShariqJReyaz for the amazing job he did arguing this in front of the HC & SC (sic),” Abdullah tweeted.
The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court had earlier dismissed the Ladakh administration's plea against a single bench order allowing NC candidates to contest the upcoming polls for the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Kargil, on the party symbol. Deputy Solicitor General of India (DSGI) TM Shamsi had contended before the High Court that the National Conference was not a recognised State Political Party in the Union Territory of Ladakh.
The administration then approached a division bench of the high court against the single bench order of August 9 which directed the NC to approach the office of the Election Department of the administration of Ladakh to notify the reserved symbol 'plough' already allotted to for in the polls.
Meanwhile, National Conference has issued a statement saying the SC's verdict is a "significant win" for the party.
"This represents a significant win for us. Initially, the Ladakh administration attempted to halt the High Court's order, but their request was denied. Subsequently, they sought to halt the contempt proceedings initiated by the High Court, but the Supreme Court also denied this request," NC said in its statement.
It added: "Today, the Supreme Court has instructed the Ladakh administration to issue a new notification within the next seven days. Additionally, they have imposed a cost of Rs 1 lakh on the Ladakh Administration while rejecting their petition opposing the allocation of the 'plough' symbol to JKNC."
"We have a legitimate claim to the 'plough' symbol and anticipate that the Ladakh Administration will adhere to the court's directives by issuing the necessary orders," it said.
It said: "Regardless of the actions taken by the BJP or its administration, it is ultimately the people who will decide the future of Kargil through their votes. We are hopeful that the people will wholeheartedly support JKNC."
