NEW DELHI, Oct 17: The Supreme Court of India indicated on Thursday that it would contemplate listing a plea that seeks a time-bound restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing the applicants, emphasized the need for urgent consideration before a bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud, alongside Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.
“There is a Miscellaneous Application (MA) for conferring statehood. It was noted in last year’s judgment that this process must be time-bound,” Sankaranarayanan stated. The CJI responded affirmatively, saying, “I will deal with it.”
The new application has been filed by Zahoor Ahmad Bhat, an academician, and Khurshaid Ahmad Malik, a socio-political activist from Jammu and Kashmir.
In a landmark ruling on December 11, 2023, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the revocation of Article 370 of the Constitution, which granted special status to the former state of Jammu and Kashmir. The Court directed that assembly elections in the region be conducted by September 2024 and reiterated that statehood for Jammu and Kashmir should be restored “at the earliest.”
