Diplomat Correspondent
New Delhi, (DD): The Supreme Court is set to hear on August 8 a plea seeking directions to the Union Government for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, nearly six years after its reorganisation into a Union Territory.
The matter was mentioned before Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud by Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who urged that the case remain listed for the scheduled date. The Chief Justice assured that it would not be removed from the cause list.
The application has been filed as a Miscellaneous Application in the disposed-of case concerning the abrogation of Article 370. In that landmark verdict, the Constitution Bench upheld the Centre’s decision to revoke J&K’s special status under Article 370 of the Constitution.
The applicants—college teacher Zahoor Ahmed Bhat and activist Khurshaid Ahmad Malik—argued that, despite assurances made by the Solicitor General during the hearing of the Article 370 case, no steps have been taken to restore statehood, even eleven months after the judgement was delivered.
They contended that the continued denial of statehood contradicts the federal structure enshrined in the Constitution and violates the basic principles of democratic governance. Highlighting the peaceful conduct of elections in the Union Territory, the petitioners said there are no valid security or law-and-order concerns to justify the delay.
In its December 2023 verdict, the Supreme Court had observed that “restoration of statehood shall take place at the earliest and as soon as possible,” though it did not prescribe a specific timeline. The upcoming hearing is expected to clarify the Centre’s position on the matter and address the petitioners’ concerns regarding the delay.((DD)