The cabinet will soon appoint former Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir, as chairperson of the first law commission being constituted in the state, a source told Greater Kashmir on Friday.
Ashok Kumar Sharma (former principal district and sessions judge) and Muhammad Iqbal Mir (former special secretary (legal), Home department) shall function as full-time members of the commission, the source said.
The source said that the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has cleared these names and the proposal will now be sent to the cabinet for its approval.
Justice Mir, also a former judge of the J&K High Court, attained superannuation in 2017.
In July last year, the state cabinet cleared the proposal of creation of the law commission which was hanging fire over the past three years. Its mandate would be to identify state laws which are no longer relevant or needed and can be immediately repealed. Its task would also be to identify the laws which require changes or amendments and make suggestions for the amendments.
The commission is being constituted at a time when J&K’s statute book is clogged with archaic and obsolete laws.
According to an official source, there are some “bizarre and harsh laws” like the enemy agents ordinance which restricts media from publishing proceedings of cases tried under it and violation of this clause can attract two years’ imprisonment or fine, or both.
Under the law, the accused has no right to engage a lawyer unless permitted by the court.
Strangely, the previous National Conference-Congress government had justified its continuation by invoking the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. The obsolete laws were last repealed in 2010.
The 13 laws repealed then also included “the Rules placing restrictions on removal of females from Baltistan” and “the public prostitutes registration Rules.”
Under “the Rules placing restrictions on removal of females from Baltistan”, no Balti female was permitted to go beyond the boundaries of Baltistan without presenting a permit.
The “public prostitutes registration Rules” legalised prostitution in the state.