Ganesh Kendale
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court announced on Thursday that it will consider listing a plea calling for a time-bound restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing the applicants, urged a bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud, along with Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, to prioritise the matter for urgent hearing.
“There is a Miscellaneous Application (MA) regarding the restoration of statehood. It was noted in last year’s judgment that the process should be time-bound,” the senior lawyer argued. In response, CJI Chandrachud assured, “I will deal with it.”
The fresh plea has been filed by Zahoor Ahmad Bhat, an academician, and socio-political activist Khurshaid Ahmad Malik from Jammu and Kashmir.
In December 2023, the Supreme Court had upheld the 2019 revocation of Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, while also directing that assembly elections be held by September 2024. The court emphasized that statehood should be restored to Jammu and Kashmir “at the earliest.”
Recently, the union territory held its assembly elections, with the National Conference and Congress alliance securing a majority. Following the victory, NC vice president Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the first chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370, and the first for the union territory.
