Jammu and Kashmir High Court File Image | Photo credit: The Hindu
Five councilors of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) have moved the Jammu and Kashmir High Court against the Ladakh Governor’s order to appoint a member of the Muslim community to the council. The petitioners have called for the LG’s order to be quashed as the seat is reserved for a member of a “fundamental religious minority” from the region and Buddhists, not Muslims, are the largest minority group in Kargil.
Four of the five movers — LAHDC chairman Mohd Jaffer Akhoon, National Conference (NC) Kargil and executive councilors Kacho Mohammad Feroz, Aga Syeed Mujtaba Mussavi and Zakir Hussain — are Muslims. The fifth petitioner, Punchok Tashi, also an executive councilor, is a Buddhist.
Ladakh has two districts — Buddhist-dominated Leh and predominantly Muslim Kargil.
Kargil Hill Council has 30 seats. Out of 26 contested seats, National Conference won 12 seats in 2023, Congress-10, Bharatiya Janata Party and Independents – two each.
On November 12, LG Kavinder Gupta nominated Reyaz Ahmed Khan, Advocate as the fourth nominated member of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil. Three more members were nominated in 2024.
The order stated that the nomination was made under the powers conferred by Section 4 (2) of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council Act, 1997.
“The government can appoint not more than four persons from among the major religious minorities and women in the district as members of the council,” the said section said.
The petitioners argued that only a person belonging to the major religious minority community of the district or a woman can be nominated to ensure minority representation in the Council.
The petition states that according to the 2011 census, which was the last census conducted, about 77% of people in Kargil are followers of the Islamic faith and that about 14.29% of the population are followers of the Buddhist religion, while 7.34% are Hindus.
“In view of the fact that in Kargil district about 77% people are Muslims, so the religion of the majority of Kargil district is Islam and the major religious minority is Buddhist, therefore the nomination under Section 4(2) of the LAHDC Act, 1997, as far as Kargil district is concerned, cannot be for a person belonging to the Islamic faith,” the petition said. In 2024, three members were nominated to the council Kargil Hills, Two Buddhists and a Woman – Namgyal Phontsok, Rigzin Gurmat, Hakeema Khatoon
The petition states that the nominated member, Reyaz Ahmed Khan, unsuccessfully contested the 2023 Upper House elections “on the ticket of a national political party which is also the party in power at the Union/Centre and thus also has direct control over the affairs of the Union Territory of Ladakh”.
Published – 02 Dec 2025 23:40 IST
