SC to consider urgent plea for time-bound restoration of JK statehood
New Delhi: On Thursday, the Supreme Court announced that it would consider scheduling a hearing for a petition seeking the prompt restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood within a specific timeframe.
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing the applicants, requested an urgent hearing from a bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud, along with Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.
“There is a Miscellaneous Application for restoring statehood. Last year’s judgement mentioned it should be time-bound,” the senior lawyer emphasised. “I will address it,” responded the CJI.
The new plea was submitted by Zahoor Ahmad Bhat, an academic, and Khurshaid Ahmad Malik, a socio-political activist from Jammu and Kashmir.
On December 11, 2023, the Supreme Court had upheld the 2019 revocation of Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and mandated that assembly elections be conducted by September 2024. The court had also urged the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood “at the earliest.”
