The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019

This Act may be called the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,--- (a) "appointed day" means the day1 which the Central Government may, by notification in theOfficial Gazette, appoint; (b) "article" means an article of the Constitution; (c) "assembly constituency" and "parliamentary constituency" have the same meanings as in theRepresentation of the People Act, 1950 (43 of 1950); (d) "Election Commission" means the Election Commission appointed by the President underarticle 324; (e) "existing State of Jammu and Kashmir" means the State of Jammu and Kashmir as existingimmediately before the appointed day, comprising the territory which immediately before thecommencement of the Constitution of India in the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir; (f) "law" includes any enactment, ordinance, regulation, order, bye-law, rule, scheme, notification orother instrument having, immediately before the appointed day, the force of law in the whole or in anypart of the existing State of Jammu and Kashmir; (g) "Legislative Assembly" means Legislative Assembly of Union territory of Jammu andKashmir; (h) "Lieutenant Governor" means the Administrator of the Union territory appointed by thePresident under article 239; (i) "notified order" means an order published in the Official Gazette; (j) "population ratio", in relation to the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, and Unionterritory of Ladakh means the ratio as per 2011 Census; (k) "Scheduled Castes" in relation to the Union territory means such castes, races or tribes orparts of groups within such castes, races or tribes as are deemed under article 341 to be ScheduledCastes in relation to that Union territory; (l) "Scheduled Tribes" in relation to the Union territory means such tribes or tribal communitiesor parts of or groups within such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under article 342 to beScheduled Tribes in relation to that Union territory; (m) "sitting member", in relation to either House of Parliament or of the Legislature of theexisting State of Jammu and Kashmir, means a person who immediately before the appointed day,is a member of that House; (n) "Union territory", in relation to the existing State of Jammu and Kashmir, means the Unionterritory of Jammu and Kashmir or Union territory of Ladakh, as the case may be; (o) "transferred territory" means the territory which on the appointed day is transferred from theexisting State of Jammu and Kashmir to Union territories formed under sections 3 and 4 of thisAct; and (p) any reference to a district, tehsil or other territorial division of the existing State of Jammuand Kashmir shall be construed as a reference to the area comprised within that territorial divisionon the appointed day.

On and from the appointedday, there shall be formed a new Union territory to be known as the Union territory of Ladakhcomprising the following territories of the existing State of Jammu and Kashmir, namely:-- “Kargil and Leh districts”, and thereupon the said territories shall cease to form part of the existing State of Jammu and Kashmir.

On and from theappointed day, there shall be formed a new Union territory to be known as the Union territory ofJammu and Kashmir comprising the territories of the existing State of Jammu and Kashmir other thanthose specified in section 3.

On and from the appointed day, the Governor of the existing State of Jammu and Kashmir shall be theLieutenant Governor for the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, and Union territory of Ladakh forsuch period as may be determined by the President.