Independent legislator Engineer Rashid is bringing a Bill before the State Assembly to restore the title ‘Sadr-e-Riyasat’ instead of Governor as State head, just a day after the High Court described the amendment of 1965 as “against the Constitution.”
“I will bring a Bill in the coming Assembly session to make the necessary amendments so that the huge errors done are rectified. It is high time that all the political parties supported it without excuses and explanations,” said Mr. Rashid, an MLA from north Kashmir’s Langate constituency.
“Restoration of Sadr-e-Riyasat and the post of Prime Minister would not mean a permanent solution to the dispute of Jammu and Kashmir but will be an act to respect the court orders and a move to satisfy the sentiments of the masses,” he said.
On Saturday, a High Court Bench, headed by Justice Hasnain Massodi, observed against the 1965 amendment that abrogated the title and introduced a Governor’s position instead. The court was hearing a petition on hoisting of separate State flag on government offices. “The elective status of the Head of the State was an important attribute of Constitutional autonomy enjoyed by the State… It is questionable whether the Constitution of Jammu & Kashmir (sixth Amendment) Act, 1965, to the extent it amended Section 26 and 27 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir and all connected provisions of the Constitution, satisfies the ‘Basic Structure’ doctrine and falls within the ambit of power under section 147 of the State Constitution,” observed the court. “One of [the] important facets of [the] autonomy was ‘elected Head of State.’ Section 26 of Constitution provided that Head of the State (Sadr-e-Riyasat) shall be elected in the manner, provided under Section 27.”
