New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday gave four weeks time to the Centre to file its response to the petitions seeking restoration of the statehood of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The matter came up for hearing before a bench headed by Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice Vinod Chandran. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, on behalf of the central government, argued that the elections to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly were held peacefully and an elected government was formed.
Mehta said that there has been considerable progress in Jammu and Kashmir in the last six years, although he also said that there have been some incidents in recent times, including the Pahalgam attack, and all these incidents have to be considered before a final decision is taken on the restoration of statehood.
It was argued before the bench that both the state and the central government were consulting on the matter. Mehta sought more time to respond to the petitioners’ pleas. The Supreme Court gave the Centre four weeks time to respond to the petitioners’ arguments.
The counsel for the petitioners argued that the Supreme Court order mentions that the statehood will be restored after the elections. It also said that the Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet has passed a resolution to take up the matter of restoration of statehood by the LG with the Centre.
The bench was hearing several petitions, including petitions filed by academic Zahoor Ahmed Bhat and socio-political activist Ahmed Malik, seeking to implement the Centre’s assurance of restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir at the earliest. The lawyer representing the petitioners cited a promise in the Supreme Court’s December 2023 judgment upholding the abrogation of Article 370.
“””This is a unique problem and involves wide-ranging concerns,”” Mehta said.” Of course, this was a serious commitment, but many factors need to be considered.” Mehta argued before the bench that some people were spreading a unique story and painting a frightening picture of the Union Territory.
The Supreme Court in December 2023 unanimously upheld the abrogation of Article 370, which had given special status to the then state of Jammu and Kashmir. The Supreme Court ordered that assembly elections be held in the Union Territory by September 2024 and its statehood be restored at the earliest.
Last year, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Centre to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood within two months. The petition was filed by academic Zahoor Ahmed Bhat and socio-political activist Khurshid Ahmed Malik.
“The delay in restoration of statehood will severely undermine the capacity of the democratically elected government in Jammu and Kashmir, leading to a serious violation of the concept of federalism, which is part of the basic framework of the Constitution of India,” the application said.”
The petition argued that the assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir were held peacefully, with no incident of violence, unrest or security concerns.
