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Informist, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024

 

NEW DELHI – An application has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking to direct the Centre to restore Jammu and Kashmir's statehood within two months. The application was filed in a case where the apex court had on Dec. 11, 2023, upheld the abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which conferred special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

 

The application, filed by a college teacher Zahoor Ahmed Bhat and an activist Khurshaid Ahmad Malik, states that the failure to restore Jammu and Kashmir's statehood was gravely affecting the rights of the citizens of the valley. The application said the formation of a legislative assembly in Jammu and Kashmir before restoring its statehood would violate the idea of federalism, which formed the basic structure of the Indian Constitution.

 

Bhat and Ahmad said that since the recent assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir were conducted peacefully, there would be no security concerns if the apex court passed an order to restore the valley's statehood within a time-bound manner. The conversion of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories has resulted in the valley being given a lesser form of elected government, which will be formed after the results are announced on Tuesday.

 

The petitioners said that Jammu and Kashmir always had a federal relationship with the Union of India. Thus, it is of utmost importance that its statehood is restored so that Jammu and Kashmir can enjoy autonomy in their individual identity and also play an important part in the overall development of the country, the petitioners said.  

 

On Aug 5, 2019, the Centre issued a presidential order, scrapping the special status of Jammu & Kashmir and making all provisions of the Indian Constitution applicable to the state. This, it said, was done to correct a "historical blunder" and truly integrate Jammu & Kashmir with the Indian Union. Article 370 granted special powers to Jammu & Kashmir to decide to which extent the Indian Constitution would be applicable to the state. Through another order, the government bifurcated the state into two Union territories of Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh. On Aug. 6, 2019, Parliament approved the presidential orders, superseding the 1954 order. 

 

In its December judgement, the apex court dismissed petitions against abrogation of Article 370 and also rejected review petitions in the case in May. In December, the top court also directed that statehood be restored to Jammu & Kashmir at the earliest, and steps be taken by the Election Commission of India to conduct elections to its legislative Assembly by Sept. 30.

 

Thereafter, elections for the Jammu & Kashmir Assembly were held in three phases – Sept. 18, Sept. 25 and Oct. 1. The Union territory recorded a voter turnout of 63.88%, lower than the Assembly elections held in 2014, when 65.52% votes were cast. The results will be declared on Tuesday. Assembly elections in Jammu & Kashmir were held for the first time since the abrogation of Article 370 in the state in August 2019.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Vidhi Verma

 

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