Incumbent Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Satya Pal Malik will be taking oath as the first Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir and UT of Ladakh on the appointed day of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, on 31 October.
Highly placed authoritative sources in the Government of India revealed to The Quint that the swearing-in ceremony of the LG of UT of Ladakh will take place in Leh before noon on 31 October.
The oath of office and secrecy as per the provisions of the Constitution of India will be administered to Malik by Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court Gita Mittal.
According to these sources, Chief Justice Mittal will, on the same day, administer the oath of office and secrecy to Mr Malik as LG of UT of Jammu and Kashmir at Raj Bhawan in Srinagar.
UPA Ministers Expected to Attend
A number of senior officials from Government of India and Government of Jammu and Kashmir, besides judges of Jammu and Kashmir High Court, will be attending the two swearing-in ceremonies.
Sources said that some senior Ministers of the UPA Government at the Centre were also expected to attend the oath-taking ceremonies.
On the same day in the afternoon, Governor Malik will administer a fresh oath to Chief Justice Mittal as per the Constitution, and the Chief Justice will subsequently administer oath to all judges of J&K High Court.
Chairpersons and members of J&K Public Service Commission, J&K Vigilance Commission and J&K Backward Classes Commission will also have to take fresh oaths as per the Constitution, sources added.
Incumbent Governor to Be Sworn In As LG
As regards the orders of the appointment of the LG, sources said that under Article 5 of the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019, the incumbent Governor will be sworn in as LG of UTs of Ladakh and J&K. The President of India is empowered by the Act to determine the period of office for the LG of UTs of Ladakh and J&K.
“What happens in the future, nobody knows. But, as of now, it’s clear enough that none other than the incumbent Governor Malik would be sworn in as the first LG of UTs of Ladakh and J&K,” said a senior bureaucratic source.
He said it was currently under the government’s consideration whether any of the five incumbent advisors to Governor would be retained as Advisor to LG of UT of J&K or not. “This will be decided in consultation with Mr Malik,” he said. According to him, there would be no advisor to LG of the UT of Ladakh.
With regard to the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, sources said the LG could decide to either retain one or two of the incumbent advisors, or relieve all five of them and have no advisor, or chose to have one or two fresh advisors.
(The writer is a Srinagar-based journalist. He can be reached @ahmedalifayyaz.)
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