The Five Schedules of the Act

In the previous chapter, "Dividing Assets and Liabilities," we looked at how the main body of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, split the bank balances, debts, and physical properties of the former state. But if you scroll to the very end of the official legal document, past all 103 sections, you will find a massive appendix. This appendix is divided into five parts, known as the Schedules.

Think of a law like a textbook. The main sections (the chapters) give you the rules and the theory. But if the rule says, "Central laws will now apply," you need a list of exactly which laws. You cannot stuff a list of 106 laws into the middle of a paragraph—it would make the Act unreadable. So, the drafters put the heavy data, the long lists, and the exact legal wordings at the back of the book. These are the Schedules.

For the exam, the Five Schedules are an absolute goldmine for examiners. They love to test this area using direct matching questions (e.g., "Match Schedule III with its subject matter"). By the end of this chapter, you will not only have memorised what each of the five schedules does, but you will also understand exactly why they were written that way.

The First Schedule: The Council of States (Rajya Sabha)

The First Schedule of the J&K Reorganisation Act deals entirely with representation in the Rajya Sabha (the Council of States).

To understand what this schedule does, you first need to look at the Constitution of India. The Indian Constitution has its own Fourth Schedule, which is a master list of how many Rajya Sabha seats every state and Union Territory gets. Because the 2019 Act erased the "State of Jammu and Kashmir" and created two new Union Territories, that master list in the Constitution had to be updated.

The First Schedule of the 2019 Act legally amends the Constitution's master list. It dictates the following distribution:

• Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir: Allocated 4 seats in the Rajya Sabha.
• Union Territory of Ladakh: Allocated 0 seats in the Rajya Sabha.

The Second Schedule: Parliamentary Constituencies (Lok Sabha)

While the First Schedule handles the upper house, the Second Schedule handles the lower house: the Lok Sabha (the House of the People).

Before 2019, the State of Jammu and Kashmir sent 6 Members of Parliament (MPs) to the Lok Sabha. The Second Schedule of the Act amends the Delimitation of Parliamentary Constituencies Order, 2008 to officially divide these 6 seats between the two new Union Territories based on their geography.

Here is exactly what the Second Schedule mandates:

• Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir: Gets 5 Lok Sabha seats. These are Baramulla, Srinagar, Anantnag, Udhampur, and Jammu.
• Union Territory of Ladakh: Gets 1 Lok Sabha seat. This single massive constituency covers the entirety of the Leh and Kargil districts.

This schedule is essentially the geographic blueprint for national elections in the region. It ensures that when general elections are held across India, the Election Commission knows exactly where the constituency borders stop and start for the two new UTs.

The Third Schedule: Assembly Constituencies

The Third Schedule zooms in from the national level to the local level. It deals with the Legislative Assembly of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Just as the Second Schedule updated the map for Lok Sabha seats, the Third Schedule updates the Delimitation of Assembly Constituencies Order to define the seats for the local MLAs.

The Third Schedule laid the groundwork for the size of the new UT's Assembly. It noted the total number of seats and, crucially, maintained a vital constitutional and territorial stance regarding the region.

The 24 Vacant Seats

A defining feature of the legislative structure outlined in the Act (and reflected in the constituency planning) is the treatment of the territory currently under the illegal occupation of Pakistan (PoJK).

The official and settled constitutional position of India is that the entire region of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. Therefore, the people living in the occupied territories have a rightful place in the democratic setup. To reflect this, 24 seats in the Legislative Assembly are legally reserved for the territory of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

These 24 seats are kept officially vacant. They are not counted when calculating the total active strength of the Assembly for things like forming a government or passing a bill, but their existence on paper is a permanent statutory declaration of India's territorial integrity.

(Note: While a subsequent Delimitation Commission in 2022 finalised the exact modern boundaries and increased the effective elected seats to 90, the Third Schedule of the 2019 Act was the legal instrument that first transferred the assembly constituency framework to the new UT).

The Fourth Schedule: Oaths and Affirmations

When a politician wins an election, they cannot simply walk into the Assembly, sit down, and start voting. They must first take a legally binding oath. The exact words they must speak are written in the Fourth Schedule.

This schedule contains the specific text for the oaths and affirmations to be taken by:

1. 1Candidates standing for election to the Legislative Assembly.
2. 2Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) after they win.
3. 3Ministers appointed to the Cabinet of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.

Oath of Office vs. Oath of Secrecy

For Ministers, the Fourth Schedule actually provides two different oaths that must be taken back-to-back:

• The Oath of Office: The Minister swears to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India, to uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, and to faithfully discharge their duties without fear or favour.
• The Oath of Secrecy: The Minister swears that they will not directly or indirectly communicate or reveal any matter brought under their consideration as a Minister to any person, except as required for the due discharge of their duties.

The Fifth Schedule: The Great Legal Reset (Central Laws)

If you only remember one schedule from this Act, make it the Fifth Schedule. It is the longest, the most complex, and arguably the most transformative part of the entire 2019 Reorganisation Act.

Before August 2019, due to the special status of the former state, laws passed by the Indian Parliament did not automatically apply to Jammu and Kashmir. The state had its own penal code, its own property laws, and its own administrative rules.

The Fifth Schedule is the legal bulldozer that cleared the old system and integrated the two new Union Territories into the uniform legal framework of India. It is divided into four distinct tables, and you must know the exact numbers associated with each.

Table 1: Central Laws Made Applicable (106 Laws)

This table lists 106 Central Laws that were immediately extended to the UT of J&K and the UT of Ladakh.

• Example: The Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, was applied, replacing the local Ranbir Penal Code (RPC).
• Example: The Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, and the Aadhaar Act, 2016, were fully extended to the region.

Table 2: State Laws Applicable with Amendments (7 Laws)

Not every local law was thrown away. Some were useful but needed a slight tweak to fit the new Union Territory structure. This table lists 7 State Laws that were kept but modified.

• Example: Laws relating to the lease of land were amended to remove old prohibitions, aligning them with the new constitutional reality.

Table 3: State Laws Retained (166 Laws)

This table lists 166 State Laws (including Governor's Acts) that were perfectly fine and were allowed to remain in force exactly as they were.

• Example: The Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA), 1978, was retained under this table.

Table 4: State Laws Repealed (153 Laws)

Because 106 Central Laws were brought in, the local laws that used to do those jobs had to be deleted to avoid legal clashes. This table lists 153 State Laws that were completely repealed (cancelled).

• Example: The old J&K Right to Information Act was repealed because the Central RTI Act took its place.

Memory Hook: How to Remember the Five Schedules

In the pressure of an exam, it is easy to mix up whether the Third Schedule is about the Assembly or the Lok Sabha. Use this simple mnemonic to lock the order in your brain:

Write "Real Leaders Always Obey Laws" at the top of your rough sheet as soon as the exam begins, and you will never get a matching question wrong.

Worked Example: Solving a Matching Question

Let us look at how this topic is typically tested and how you should approach it using the knowledge you just gained.

Sample Question: Match the following Schedules of the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019 with their correct subject matter:

• List I (Schedules): P) First Schedule, Q) Third Schedule, R) Fourth Schedule, S) Fifth Schedule
• List II (Subjects): 1) Oaths, 2) Central Laws, 3) Rajya Sabha, 4) Assembly Constituencies

Step-by-Step Solution:

1. 1Recall the mnemonic: Real Leaders Always Obey Laws.
2. 2P (First Schedule): The first word is Real -> Rajya Sabha. So, P matches with 3.
3. 3Q (Third Schedule): The third word is Always -> Assembly. So, Q matches with 4.
4. 4R (Fourth Schedule): The fourth word is Obey -> Oaths. So, R matches with 1.
5. 5S (Fifth Schedule): The fifth word is Laws -> Central Laws. So, S matches with 2.
6. 6The correct matching code is P-3, Q-4, R-1, S-2.

By breaking it down methodically, you turn a potentially confusing jumble of legal terms into a guaranteed mark.

Quick Revision

• What is a Schedule? An appendix at the end of the Act containing lists, tables, and exact legal wordings.
• First Schedule: Deals with the Rajya Sabha. Allocates 4 seats to J&K and 0 to Ladakh.
• Second Schedule: Deals with the Lok Sabha. Allocates 5 seats to J&K and 1 to Ladakh.
• Third Schedule: Deals with Assembly Constituencies. Outlines the legislative map for J&K, including the 24 seats kept permanently vacant for Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).
• Fourth Schedule: Contains the exact text for Oaths and Affirmations for MLAs and Ministers (including both the oath of office and the oath of secrecy).
• Fifth Schedule: The legal reset. It applied 106 Central Laws, modified 7 State Laws, retained 166 State Laws, and repealed 153 State Laws.
• Mnemonic: Real Leaders Always Obey Laws (Rajya, Lok, Assembly, Oaths, Laws).