The chief justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on Thursday agreed to establish a special bench to hear a petition challenging the lieutenant governor’s power to nominate five MLAs to the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir, reported the Hindustan Times.

Chief Justice Tashi Rabstan said he would constitute the bench on Monday.

Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee Senior Vice President Ravinder Sharma filed the petition.

The Legislative Assembly in Jammu and Kashmir has a strength of 119 members, including 24 seats reserved for areas in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The recent Assembly elections were held in 90 constituencies. The lieutenant governor has the power to appoint five members. Therefore, a party or alliance needs 48 seats to secure the majority in the 95-member House.

These were the first Assembly polls in the region since Jammu and Kashmir lost its special status with the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. The Centre at the time also bifurcated the erstwhile state into two Union territories.

The Congress leader had initially approached the Supreme Court challenging certain provisions in the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 – the law at the core of the transformation of the state into two Union territories.

According to the Act, law enforcement agencies fall...