 "A view of Supreme Court of India building in New Delhi. PTI")
The Supreme Court will take up a petition on Friday that has sought the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.
In August 2019, the Narendra Modi government abrogated Article 370 that granted special status to J&K. It also bifurcated the state of J&K into two union territories of J&K and Ladakh. While the government has stated the commitment to the restoration of J&K’s statehood, it has not given any timeline.
The petition in the SC, filed by academic Zahoor Ahmad Bhat and social activist Khurshaid Ahmad Malik in October 2024, has sought directions to the government for the restoration of J&K’s statehood within a specified timeframe, preferably within two months, according to Hindustan Times.
In their petition, Bhat and Malik have said that “the non-restoration of the status of statehood of Jammu & Kashmir in a timebound manner violates the idea of federalism which forms a part of the basic structure of the Constitution of India”, as per the newspaper.
They further said that the prolonged status of a union territory is unwarranted and calls for prompt action in accordance with the assurance given by the government in earlier proceedings before the Supreme Court.
After the revocation of Article 370 was challenged in a clutch of pleas, the SC in December 2023 upheld the revocation and ordered that elections must be held in J&K before September 2024. However, the SC did not pass any ruling about the restoration of statehood and acknowledged the government’s stated commitment to the restoration of statehood.
In line with the SC’s judgement, assembly elections were held in J&K in September and October 2024, leading to the formation of a government led by Omar Abdullah of J&K National Conference (NC). However, there has not been any announcement regarding the restoration of J&K’s statehood.