The Supreme Court of India, on Thursday, expressed its willingness to consider a plea for the time-bound restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. This development follows the Court’s previous ruling in December 2023, which upheld the 2019 revocation of Article 370 and called for the reinstatement of statehood at the earliest.
The plea, brought forth by Zahoor Ahmad Bhat, an academic, and Khurshaid Ahmad Malik, a socio-political activist from the region, was presented by Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan. Addressing a bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, along with Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, Sankaranarayanan emphasized the urgency of the matter. “There is an MA (Miscellaneous Application) for conferring statehood. It was noted (in last year’s judgment) that it has to be time-bound,” he stated.
Chief Justice Chandrachud responded to the request by assuring, “I will deal with it,” indicating a proactive approach from the apex court in addressing this significant national issue.
The call for restoring statehood comes after the landmark decision where the Supreme Court validated the removal of Article 370, a move that significantly altered the administrative status of Jammu and Kashmir. The court also mandated that assembly elections be held in the region by September 2024 as part of the transitional arrangements.
