SC to hear plea seeking restoration of J&K statehood today

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) The Supreme Court will hear a petition seeking directions to the Central Government to restore statehood to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday.

The plea was mentioned before Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai by senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who confirmed that the matter has been listed for hearing on August 8 (Friday).

The petition, filed by Zahoor Ahmed Bhat and activist Khurshaid Ahmad Malik, contends 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 applicants argue that the failure to restore statehood within a time-bound framework amounts to a violation of federalism, which forms part of the Basic Structure of the Constitution.

"In re: Article 370 of the Constitution" verdict, a 5-judge Constitution Bench, headed by then CJI D.Y. Chandrachud, had left open the question of whether the Parliament can extinguish the character of statehood by converting a state into one or more Union Territories, relying on the statement made by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that statehood would be restored to Jammu and Kashmir.

However, it had ordered the Election Commission of India to take steps to conduct elections to the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir, constituted under Section 14 of the Reorganisation Act, by September 30, 2024, and said that "restoration of statehood shall take place at the earliest and as soon as possible".

During the earlier hearings, SG Mehta had told the court that the Union Home Ministry could not provide a specific timeline and that it would take “some time” to restore statehood.

In May 2024, the Supreme Court dismissed review petitions challenging its verdict, stating there was “no error apparent on the face of the record” and refused to list the matter in open court.

--IANS

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