Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh as Union Territories (2019)

J&K Ladakh union territory status dates from 31 October 2019, when the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir was reorganised under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 into two separate Union Territories: Jammu and Kashmir, which retains a legislature, and Ladakh, which does not. The reorganisation was carried out under Parliament's power to alter state boundaries and status, and it followed closely on the reading down of Article 370's special provisions, together reshaping how the region is governed, legislated for, and judicially administered.

From State to Two Union Territories

Parliament has long used its power to redraw internal boundaries and change the status of territories — the creation of Telangana out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014 by the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act is an earlier example of this mechanism being used to form a new state. The 2019 exercise went further: instead of splitting one state into two states, it converted an existing state into two distinct Union Territories.

Under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir ceased to exist as a state and was reconstituted as:

• the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, with its own legislature, and
• the Union Territory of Ladakh, without a legislature.

As part of the same process, the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council — the state's upper house — was abolished. The reorganisation took effect on 31 October 2019.

Article 370 and the Constitutional Application Order

The territorial reorganisation was preceded by changes to Jammu and Kashmir's special constitutional position. Article 370 essentially ceased to operate from 6 August 2019, after which the provisions of the Constitution began applying to Jammu and Kashmir without the modifications and exceptions that had earlier applied under it.

This was preceded by the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019 (C.O. 272), issued by the President in exercise of powers under Article 370(1), with the concurrence of the state government, and it came into force on 5 August 2019, superseding the earlier Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954. Among its changes, C.O. 272 added a clause to Article 367 (the Constitution's interpretation article) directing that, for purposes of applying the Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir, references such as "Sadar-i-Riyasat" be read as "Governor" and "Legislative Assembly" be read as "Constituent Assembly" — a drafting device used to align the state's older constitutional vocabulary with the rest of India before the fuller application of the Constitution and the subsequent reorganisation into Union Territories.

Administrative and Legislative Structure

The two new Union Territories are administered differently, reflecting the general distinction between Union Territories with and without their own legislatures.

Jammu and Kashmir joins Delhi (since 1992) and Puducherry (since 1963) as Union Territories that have been given a legislative assembly, a chief minister and a council of ministers. Its assembly can make laws on subjects in the State List and the Concurrent List, except public order and police — a restriction comparable to the one placed on the Delhi assembly, which additionally excludes land.

Even where a Union Territory has its own legislature, Parliament's own law-making power over that territory is not diminished: Parliament can legislate on any subject in any of the three lists, including the State List, for Union Territories, whether or not they have a local legislature.

Ladakh, having no legislature, is administered directly by the Lieutenant Governor. For such Union Territories, the President may make regulations for peace, progress and good government; a Presidential regulation has the same force as an Act of Parliament and can amend or repeal a parliamentary law applicable to that territory. Ladakh is one of five Union Territories without a legislature — along with Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, and Lakshadweep — that have a Home Minister's Advisory Committee or Administrator's Advisory Committee as a consultative forum, with the Ministry of Home Affairs functioning as the nodal ministry under the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961.

A Shared High Court

Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are served by a single, common High Court — the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court. This follows a pattern seen elsewhere among Union Territories: Delhi is the only Union Territory with a wholly separate High Court of its own (since 1966), while the others are placed under the jurisdiction of a High Court shared with a neighbouring state or Union Territory.

The Updated List of Union Territories

With Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh added, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli merged with Daman and Diu the following year, India presently has eight Union Territories:

The Constitution's First Schedule was correspondingly updated to reflect 28 States and 8 Union Territories with their territorial specifications. The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 also renumbered the First Schedule's list of states (entries 16 to 29 were renumbered as entries 15 to 28), with effect from 31 October 2019.

Significance

The 2019 reorganisation is notable as an instance of Parliament using its constitutional power to change a state's status to that of a Union Territory, rather than merely creating a new state or Union Territory from existing territory. It also illustrates the layered governance design the Constitution allows for Union Territories — some administered directly by the Union through a Lieutenant Governor or Administrator, and others, like Jammu and Kashmir, given an elected assembly and council of ministers while Parliament retains overriding legislative authority.

UPSC Relevance

Prelims

• India presently has 8 Union Territories; Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were created in 2019, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu were merged in 2020.
• The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 took effect on 31 October 2019.
• Article 370 essentially ceased operation from 6 August 2019.
• Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are served by a common High Court.
• Union Territories with a legislative assembly: Delhi, Puducherry, and Jammu and Kashmir.

Mains

• Discuss Parliament's power under Article 3 to alter the territorial status of a state, using the 2019 Jammu and Kashmir reorganisation as an example.
• Examine the differentiated governance models among India's Union Territories and what this reveals about India's asymmetric federal structure.
• Analyse the constitutional and administrative implications of a state losing its statehood and becoming Union Territories.

FAQ

Q1. When did Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh become Union Territories? Both became Union Territories on 31 October 2019, when the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 took effect.

Q2. Does Ladakh have its own legislative assembly? No. Ladakh is a Union Territory without a legislature and is administered directly by a Lieutenant Governor, unlike Jammu and Kashmir, which has a Legislative Assembly.

Q3. What happened to Article 370 in this process? Article 370 essentially ceased to operate from 6 August 2019, following the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019, after which the Constitution's provisions apply to Jammu and Kashmir without the earlier modifications and exceptions.

Q4. Which body legislates for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh? Jammu and Kashmir has its own Legislative Assembly (excluding public order and police), while Parliament retains the power to legislate on any subject for both Union Territories. Ladakh, having no assembly, is governed through Presidential regulations and the Lieutenant Governor.

Q5. Which High Court has jurisdiction over Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh? The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, a common High Court serving both Union Territories.

Quick Revision

• J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019 — effective 31 October 2019.
• Erstwhile State of J&K split into UT of J&K (with legislature) and UT of Ladakh (without legislature).
• J&K Legislative Council abolished in this process.
• Article 370 ceased operation from 6 August 2019.
• C.O. 272 (5 August 2019) superseded the 1954 Application Order.
• Common High Court: Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.
• India's UTs with legislature: Delhi, Puducherry, Jammu and Kashmir.
• Total Union Territories today: 8.

Sources

• The Constitution of India — First Schedule
• Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 — legislative.gov.in
• Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019 (C.O. 272) — Ministry of Home Affairs
• Article 370, Constitution of India

Further Reference

For deeper reading on this topic and the wider polity syllabus, these standard works are recommended:

• M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity (McGraw Hill) — the standard UPSC handbook.
• D.D. Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India (LexisNexis) — authoritative constitutional-law treatment.
• The Constitution of India — Bare Act — the official text.

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