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Informist, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024

 

NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court on Thursday said that it will consider listing an application seeking directions to the Centre to restore the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir. 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.

 

Advocate Gopal Sankanarayanan, appearing for the petitioners, urged the bench led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud to urgently hear the case. The application, filed by college teacher Zahoor Ahmed Bhat and activist Khurshaid Ahmad Malik, seeks the restoration of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir in two months. Sankanarayanan said that the apex court in its judgement had asked the government to restore statehood in a time-bound manner. Chief Justice Chandrachud said he would deal with the counsel's request.

 

The application states that the failure to restore Jammu and Kashmir's statehood was affecting the rights of the citizens of the Union territory. It said since the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir were conducted peacefully, there would be no security concerns if the court passed an order to restore statehood within a time-bound manner. The conversion of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories has resulted in the area being given a lesser form of elected government, it said.

 

The Centre on Aug 5, 2019, 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 apply 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. The court also directed that statehood be restored to Jammu & Kashmir at the earliest and steps be taken to conduct elections to its legislative Assembly by Sept. 30.

 

The elections to the Jammu & Kashmir Assembly were held in three phases – Sept. 18, Sept. 25 and Oct. 1. The alliance of the National Conference, the Congress, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) secured a majority in the 90-member Jammu & Kashmir assembly, winning 49 seats. On Wednesday, National Conference Vice-President Omar Abdullah took the oath as the first chief minister of the Union territory of Jammu & Kashmir.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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