Jammu, May 11: Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party provincial president Advocate Harsh Dev Singh has filed a writ petition in Supreme Court seeking early assembly elections in J&K.
“A writ petition seeking early assembly elections in J&K was filed in the Supreme Court today by Mr. Harsh Dev Singh Advocate with a prayer to the Apex Court to issue directions to the Union of India and the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take immediate steps for restoration of the democratic process and revival of peoples government in the erstwhile State in consonance with the spirit of the Constitution and successive rulings of the top court of the country,” the JKNPP said in a statement, adding that the writ petition has been filed in the name of senior NPP leader Mrs. Manju Singh, Mr. Des Raj Chairman Block Development Council Ramnagar and Mrs. Ashri Devi member DDC Udhampur.
Speaking to the media persons, Harsh Dev said the matter was likely to be heard by the SC Bench within the next couple of days on the date to be fixed by the SC Registry wherein he had raised various questions of law and of facts in support of his contentions to get the desired relief from the court.
“The democracy continues to be abused and outraged in J&K by the present rulers behaving as unquestionable despots and running the affairs of the government for the last five years in J&K through their proxies. And when the people press for the restoration of democratic government, the helmsmen either issue a statement assuring early elections or silence the protagonists of democracy through the coercive apparatus of the state. With all this happening for the last five years, democracy continues to be delayed and denied in J&K on one pretext or the other in contravention of the spirit of the constitution and the ‘obiter dicta’ and rulings of the Apex Court of the country,” he said.
“Denying democratic government is a punishment to the people, as observed by the top court as well,” Singh said. “Elections are said to be the bedrock of democracy. They have been held to be the barometer of democracy by the top court of the country. There can be no democracy without free and periodic elections.”
