Plea filed in SC seeking statehood for J-K in 2 months

A plea was filed on Monday in the Supreme Court seeking directions to the Centre for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir within two months.

On December 11, 2023, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the 2019 revocation of Article 370 of the Constitution that gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir even as it ordered assembly elections there by September 2024 and the restoration of statehood "at the earliest".

The fresh application has been filed by Zahoor Ahmad Bhat, an academician, and Khurshaid Ahmad Malik, a socio-political activist, in Jammu and Kashmir seeking restoration of statehood.

"It is submitted that the delay in the restoration of statehood would cause serious reduction of democratically elected government in Jammu and Kashmir causing a grave violation of the idea of federalism which forms part of the basic structure of the Constitution of India," the application filed through advocate Soayib Qureshi said.

The application said that the legislative assembly elections as well as Lok Sabha polls were conducted in J-K peacefully without any incident of violence, disturbance or any security concerns being reported.

"Therefore, there is no impediment of security concerns, violence or any other disturbances which would hinder or prevent the grant/restoration of the status of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir as had been assured by the Union of India in the present proceedings," the plea said.

It said, "The non-restoration of the status of statehood of Jammu & Kashmir will result in Jammu & Kashmir being given a lesser form of elected democratic government, especially in light of the legislative assembly results being declared on October 8, 2024."

It submitted that despite the apex court's directions for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir "at the earliest and as soon as possible", no steps have been taken by the Centre to provide any timeline for the implementation of such directions.

"It is submitted that Jammu and Kashmir is being operated as a Union Territory for a period of almost five years now which has caused many impediments and grave losses to the development of Jammu and Kashmir and has affected the democratic rights of its citizens," it contended.

The application said that Jammu and Kashmir being an individual state having gone through many struggles and hardships requires a strong federal structure to help in developing the area and also celebrating its unique culture.

In its verdict in December last year, the apex court had held that Article 370, which was incorporated in the Indian Constitution in 1949 to grant special status to J-K, was a temporary provision and the President of India was empowered to revoke the measure in the absence of the Constituent Assembly of the erstwhile state whose term expired in 1957.