New Delhi, Aug 5 : The Supreme Court will hear on August 8 an application seeking directions to the Union Government for restoring the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir, nearly six years after its reorganization into a Union Territory.
Details available with news agency Kashmir News Corner — KNC, Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan mentioned the matter before Chief Justice of India BR Gavai, requesting that the case remain listed for August 8. The CJI assured that it will not be deleted from the cause list.
The plea has been filed as a Miscellaneous Application in the disposed-off case “In Re: Article 370 of the Constitution,” where the apex court upheld the abrogation of Article 370. The applicants, college teacher Zahoor Ahmed Bhat and activist Khurshaid Ahmad Malik, argued that despite assurances from the Solicitor General about restoring statehood, no concrete steps have been taken in the last eleven months since the judgment.
They contended that non-restoration of statehood violates the basic feature of federalism. Citing peaceful conduct of Assembly elections, they argued there are no security or law-and-order impediments to granting statehood.
In its previous judgment, the Supreme Court directed that “restoration of statehood shall take place at the earliest and as soon as possible,” though no timeline was set. (KNC)
