The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh on Wednesday issued notice to the Union Territory of Ladakh on a plea filed by five councillors of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) at Kargil challenging Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Kavinder Gupta's decision to nominate a Muslim to a seat reserved for the ''principal religious minority''of Kargil district [Mohd Jaffer Akhoon and Ors. V/s Union Territory of Ladakh].
A division bench of Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Sanjay Parihar sought the response of the Union Territory and listed the matter for further hearing on December 30.
The LG had nominated advocate Reyaz Ahmed Khan, a Muslim, to the seat reserved for the ''principal religious minority''of the Kargil district.
The five petitioners, LAHDC Chairman Mohd Jaffer Akhoon, Executive Councillors Kacho Mohammad Feroz, Aga Syeed Mujtaba Mussavi, Zakir Hussain, and Punchok Tashi, moved the Court arguing that the nomination was in violation of Section 4(2) of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council Act, 1997 which permits nomination only from “the principal religious minorities and women” of a district.
The petitioners placed reliance on the 2011 Census to assert that 77% of Kargil’s population is Muslim, while 14.29% are Buddhists and 7.34% Hindus, making Buddhists the principal religious minority in Kargil.
The petitioners contended that the LG cannot nominate a member of the majority community to a seat intended to safeguard minority representation.
They further pointed out that in 2024, the LG nominated two Buddhists, Namgyal Phontsok and Rigzin Gurmat, and one woman, Hakeema Khatoon, in conformity with the statutory mandate.
The petition also highlighted that the LG's nominee, Reyaz Ahmed Khan, had unsuccessfully contested the 2023 hill council elections on the ticket of a national political party currently in power at the Centre.
The LAHDC has 30 seats of which 26 are elected members. The National Conference holds 12 seats, Congress has 10 and BJP and independents have 2 members each.
Advocate Sharik Reyaz Jan appeared for the petitioners.