J&K HC orders holding of no-confidence motion; Budgam District Development Council Chairperson removed-OxBig News Network

Nazir Khan. File.
| Photo Credit: NISSAR AHMAD

The J&K High Court on Monday (April 7, 2025) directed officials to hold a no-confidence motion against the Chairperson of the District Development Council (DDC), Budgam, after 13 months of delay.

The Chairperson, Nazir Khan, was removed from the position as no DDC member voted for him.   

“These are democratic institutions, if people have lost faith in you, we cannot revive it,” the court observed while passing the orders.

In the order, Justice Mohammad Yousuf Wani directed officials to “to immediately address the second No-Confidence Motion, strictly as per the provisions of the Act and the Rules framed thereunder and submit a compliance report to the Court positively by the next date of hearing”.

According to the petition filed by advocates Zamir Abdullah and Zahir Abdullah, Mr. Khan took over as DDC Chairperson in 2020, after the DDC elections. However, the 13 elected DDC members unanimously moved a no-confidence motion on February 19, 2024. 

“Mr. Khan’s conduct and attitude was viewed by all the members as being detrimental to his office for the reasons of gross misconduct and neglect of duty thus unbecoming of a Chairperson,” the petitioners told the court.

According to the petition, the court had, on March 27, 2024 directed the Deputy Commissioner, Budgam, to conclude the no-confidence motion. The petitioners said the official “chose to persist in his intention to defy the Court order by not proceeding on the Motion”.

Meanwhile, Mr. Khan was removed from his position as Chairperson, after 13 members voted against him. 

“This episode lays bare the extraordinary lengths to which one individual — aided by the silent protection of the Central administration — can go to cling to power. But it also reaffirms a deeper truth — you can delay democracy, but you cannot deny it. The will of the people has prevailed, proving that accountability — no matter how delayed — is inevitable,” a National Conference spokesperson said.

The NC termed the removal of Mr. Khan as DDC Chairperson as “a powerful assertion of democratic will at the grassroots level”.

“Mr. Khan had controversially assumed the Chair in February 2021 through a coin toss after a 7–7 deadlock in votes. Over time, he faced serious allegations, including failure to convene council meetings for over a year; interference in the functioning of fellow members; and aggressive conduct, especially towards women DDC members,” the NC said.