Aug 12, 2025: After the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) told the High Court of J&K and Ladakh that the Lieutenant Governor (L-G) has the authority to nominate five members to the Legislative Assembly without the advice of the elected government, a political storm broke out in Jammu and Kashmir. In response to a petition that was submitted by senior Congress leader Ravinder Kumar Sharma, the MHA made the statement in an affidavit.

The ministry said that the L-G can nominate five members to make sure that all communities are included and are represented well. The J&K Reorganization Act of 2019 permits the nomination of five additional members in addition to the 90 elected representatives.

Two of them are women; two of them are Kashmiri migrants, one of whom is a woman; and one of them is a member of the displaced community in the Pakistan-occupied region of Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).

Before the High Court sets the date for the final hearing, Ravinder Sharma stated that he would submit a rejoinder to the MHA's response. The request for a final hearing date will be taken into consideration at the next hearing, which is scheduled for August 14. It is anticipated that senior Supreme Court attorney Abhishek Manu Singhvi will appear on the petitioner's behalf. Sharma, who is also the Congress party's chief spokesperson, said that the MHA's affidavit was filed at the last minute despite having several opportunities before. He stated, "We will examine the reply with our senior attorneys and seek time to file a rejoinder before the court sets a date for the final hearing." Sharma has challenged the provision in the J&K Reorganization Act that allows the L-G to nominate five MLAs without the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers.

Mehbooba Mufti, the leader of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), was vehemently critical of the Centre's position. “The Centre does not select legislators to override the public mandate anywhere else in the country. She stated, "This move feels less like governance and more like control in India's only Muslim-majority region, which has been plagued by conflict for a long time." “Following the illegal bifurcation of the state, skewed delimitation, and discriminatory seat reservations, this nomination is yet another body blow to the idea of democracy in J&K.”
She further asserted that representation must be earned through the people’s vote, not granted by central decree. It is impossible for this to become the norm. I hope the Omar Abdullah-led government rises to the occasion by challenging this undemocratic precedent, because silence now would be complicity later,” she said.

Tanvir Sadiq, the spokesperson for the National Conference (NC), expressed similar worries, stating: “It is not governance; it is disdain for the mandate of the people to allow the L-G to handpick members when J&K has an elected government with an absolute majority. It undermines the very foundation of parliamentary democracy, disregards the constitutional principle of "aid and advice," and establishes a perilous precedent in which unelected appointees can alter the verdict of the people. The MHA, in its affidavit, stated: “Once the Parliament by law recognises the Lieutenant Governor as a distinct authority from the government of the Union Territory under a parliamentary enactment, it necessarily follows that when a power is conferred upon the L-G, it must be exercised as a statutory function and not merely as an extension of his duties as the head of the UT Government. Sections 15, 15A, and 15B of the J&K Reorganization Act, 2019, specifically recognise the power and authority of the L-G to nominate members to the Legislative Assembly.”

“There can be no manner of doubt that it is the Lieutenant Governor who has to exercise this statutory duty in his discretion, as a statutory functionary, and not as an extension of the government — thus, without aid and advice,” the affidavit added.