Supreme Court Gives Centre Four Weeks to Respond on Pleas for Jammu & Kashmir Statehood

The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Centre to file its response within four weeks on multiple pleas seeking the restoration of statehood to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

A bench comprising Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran heard petitions filed by academician Zahoor Ahmad Bhat and socio-political activist Ahmad Malik, among others, urging the Centre to implement its assurance to restore statehood “at the earliest.”

Petitioners’ counsel referred to a December 2023 Supreme Court judgment that upheld the abrogation of Article 370 and recorded the Centre’s undertaking to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, said consultations were ongoing with the Jammu and Kashmir administration regarding statehood restoration. “This is a sui generis problem, and there are wider concerns involved. Of course, there was a solemn undertaking, but several factors need to be considered,” Mehta stated. He also alleged that certain narratives were being spread to present a grim picture of the union territory.

On December 11, 2023, the Supreme Court had upheld the revocation of Article 370, ordered assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir by September 2024, and directed the statehood restoration “at the earliest.” Last year, a plea sought directions for the Centre to restore statehood within two months.