New Delhi: The Supreme Court is set to hear a petition on Friday seeking directions to the Centre to restore statehood to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The matter was mentioned before Chief Justice of India B R Gavai by senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who confirmed that it has been listed for hearing today.
Filed by Zahoor Ahmed Bhat and activist Khurshaid Ahmad Malik, the petition argues that the continued delay in restoring statehood is “gravely affecting the rights of the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir and also violating the idea of federalism.”
The plea asserts that failure to reinstate statehood within a specified timeframe amounts to a violation of the federal structure, which is part of the Basic Structure of the Constitution.
In its December 2023 verdict on the abrogation of Article 370, a five-judge Constitution Bench led by then CJI D Y Chandrachud left unanswered the question of whether Parliament could revoke the status of a state by converting it into a Union Territory. The court relied on Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s assurance that statehood would eventually be restored.
While directing the Election Commission of India to conduct elections to the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly under Section 14 of the Reorganization Act by 30 September 2024, the court also observed that statehood should be restored “at the earliest and as soon as possible.”
However, during earlier hearings, the Solicitor General had informed the bench that the Union Home Ministry could not provide a fixed timeline for the process and that it would take “some time.”
In May 2024, the Supreme Court dismissed review petitions challenging the Article 370 verdict, stating there was “no error apparent on the face of the record” and declined to list the matter for an open court hearing.