New Delhi
The Supreme Court on Thursday sought a reply from the central government in eight weeks during the hearing of the petition to restore the status of state status to Jammu and Kashmir. Also, during this period, the terrorist attack in Pahalgam in April was also mentioned. The court said that incidents like recent terrorist attacks in Pahgam cannot be ignored. A bench of Chief Justice BR Gawai and Justice of Justice told senior advocate Gopal Shankaranarayanan, appearing for the petitioners, “You cannot ignore what happened in Pahgam.”
The comment of the country’s highest court came when Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the central government, opposed the petition that state status would be restored after the elections, but the issue should not be raised yet in view of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Tushar Mehta said, “We have assured that state status will be restored after elections. The situation in this area is special. I will take instructions, but give 8 weeks time.”
Senior advocate Shankaranarayanan said that in December 2023, the Supreme Court had not given a decision on the state status issue, relying on the assurance of the Center, in the judgment on petitions challenging Article 370. He said, “It has been 21 months since that decision, but the status of the state has not been restored yet.” The petition has been filed by college teacher Jahur Ahmed Bhat and activist Khurshid Ahmed Malik. He says that the absence of state status is affecting the rights of citizens.
Let us tell you that with the removal of Article 370 in August 2019, the state was divided into two union territories (Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh). Several petitions were filed in the Supreme Court against this decision. The petitioners have demanded that the central government should give back state status to Jammu and Kashmir as soon as possible and restore a complete democratic structure there.
A bench headed by the Chief Justice issued a notice to the Center and said that the government’s side will be heard on this petition. The court listed the case for the next hearing 8 weeks later. Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Thursday that restoring the state status to the Union Territory is ‘necessary improvement’, not ‘concession’ and this issue is beyond regional interests.
