Supreme Court gives Centre 4 more weeks to respond on J&K statehood pleas
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The Supreme Court on Friday granted the Centre an additional four weeks to file its response to pleas seeking directions to restore the statehood of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran was hearing multiple pleas, including those filed by academician Zahoor Ahmad Bhat and socio-political activist Ahmad Malik, pressing for the implementation of the Centre’s assurance to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir “at the earliest”.
The counsel appearing for the petitioners referred to an undertaking recorded in the Supreme Court’s December 2023 judgment that upheld the abrogation of Article 370.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told the court that “there has been substantial progress in Jammu and Kashmir but certain incidents like Pahalgam terror attack has taken place and all will have to be taken into consideration before a final call.” He added that the Centre and the state are in consultation.
On December 11, 2023, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the revocation of Article 370 and ordered that assembly elections be held in the union territory of J&K by September 2024 and its statehood be restored “at the earliest.
Last year, a plea was filed in the apex court seeking directions to the Centre for the restoration of Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir within two months.
(With inputs from ANI and agencies)