The RTI request by Shubham Khatri, a student at Ashoka University, sought a list of the State and Union Territory Legislative Assemblies which were part of the Electoral College for election of the President. Mr. Khatri also asked the EC to clarify whether the newly-formed Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir was part of the Electoral College.ELECTION COMMISSION REPLY :-
The EC sent a single-line response, merely saying “for the information, applicant may be informed to refer Article 54 of the Constitution of India.
Important key point of Article 54:- The Presedent is elected not directly by the people but by members of electoral college consisiting of :-
- The elected members of both the Houses of Parliament
- The elected memberd of the legislative assemblies of the state
- The elected members of the legislative assemblies of the Uninon Territory of Delhi and Puducherry (This Provision was added by the 70th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 with effect from june 1, 1995)
We know in J&K Reorganisation Act which came into existence August, 2019 does not specify anything about whether the legislature of Jammu and Kashmir would be to vote in the election for a president.
Inclusion of new members in the Electoral College in Article 54 would require a Constitutional Amendment to be carried out through two-thirds majority in Parliament and ratification by over 50% of the States.
However, according to some experts, Union territory of J&K would be able to participate in the President’s elections even without any Constitutional amendment.
- According to Section 13 of the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019, the provisions contained in article 239A, which are applicable to “Union territory of Puducherry”, shall also apply to the “Union territory of Jammu & Kashmir”.
SOURCE :- THE HINDU
