New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday sought the Centre’s response on a plea requesting the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran noted Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s submissions on behalf of the Centre, highlighting that “several considerations go into the decision-making process.”
The court scheduled the plea, filed by academician Zahoor Ahmad Bhat and socio-political activist Ahmad Malik, for hearing in eight weeks.
“You cannot ignore what happened in Pahalgam… It is for Parliament and the Executive to decide,” CJI Gavai remarked when senior lawyer Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing Bhat, requested an early hearing.
On December 11, 2023, the Supreme Court had unanimously upheld the revocation of Article 370, which granted special status to the former state of Jammu and Kashmir, while directing that assembly elections be held in the union territory by September 2024 and its statehood be restored “at the earliest.”
Last year, a separate plea was filed seeking a two-month timeframe for the Centre to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
