New Delhi, Aug 5: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on August 8 a petition seeking the restoration of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir. The matter was mentioned by Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai.
“The date shows as August 8. Let it not be deleted,” Sankaranarayanan urged. The Court agreed and assured that the case will remain on the day’s causelist.
The plea, filed by college teacher Zahoor Ahmed Bhat and activist Khurshid Ahmad Malik, contends that the continued delay in restoring Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood is gravely impacting the fundamental rights of its citizens.
Filed during last year’s Assembly elections in the Union Territory, the petition argues that forming a Legislative Assembly before reinstating statehood undermines the concept of federalism, a part of the Constitution’s basic structure.
Currently, a coalition government led by the National Conference, with support from the Congress and some independent MLAs, is in place in Jammu and Kashmir.
The petition follows the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, which led to the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories — Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. While a Constitution Bench upheld the abrogation in a December 2023 verdict, it refrained from deciding on the validity of the law enabling the bifurcation.
In May 2024, the Supreme Court also dismissed review petitions challenging that decision.
Notably, the Court had earlier recorded a statement from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, affirming that the Union Territory status of Jammu and Kashmir is “temporary” and that full statehood will eventually be restored. [KNT]
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