Jammu and Kashmir High Court grants U.T. government 20 days to submit final stand on Gulmarg lease issue

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Thursday (August 29, 2025) granted 20 days to the Union Territory government to submit its final stand on the Gulmarg lease issue, in the wake of the Raj Bhawan and the Chief Minister’s office taking two separate positions. Dozens of hoteliers are unable to extend their lease period after the Lt.-Governor’s administration replaced the rules for lease with a new one in 2022.

The Division Bench, comprising J&K Chief Justice Arun Palli and justice Rajnesh Oswal, decided to hear the Gulmarg lease issue again on September 17, while passing the direction to the U.T. government to submit its final stand.

The direction came after the court perused the two separate stands submitted to the judges from the Raj Bhawan and the Chief Minister’s office in a sealed cover for the second time. The Raj Bhawan’s stand was submitted through the Additional Advocate General and the CM’s stand through the Special Secretary, Law Department. The two positions, in sealed covers, were presented by the Additional Advocate General and opened to take note of the stands taken by the two top offices of J&K.

The court held that the stand of the government of the UT, as envisaged under the Reorganisation Act 2019, should submit “an overt stand” in the next hearing. The court hinted that it is unlikely to entertain the sealed cover stands submitted by the Raj Bhawan and the office of the Chief Minister.

User charges

Meanwhile, the court also directed the occupants to submit “user charges as commensurate to your earnings” by those who occupy the hotels even after the expiration of the lease periods.

Over 55 hotels in the tourist hotspot of Gulmarg are unable to extend the lease periods after the Lieutenant Governor (L-G) drafted new rules, J&K Land Grant Rules in 2022, and replaced the J&K Land Grants Rules, 1960. At least 10 hoteliers have challenged the rules, which deny them the rights to apply for lease again.

The L-G administration had asked the outgoing leaseholders to evict properties or else face evictions under the new rules. During the L-G rule, it was decided that an expert committee would enlist all properties the lease agreements for which had ended and would be e-auctioned afresh. The decision would pave the way for outsiders too to apply for hotel leases for the first time in Gulmarg. The new rules insist on open bidding to “any person legally competent under Section 11 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872.” In the past, only locals were eligible for such leases.