Case to be heard by CJI-led bench
Srinagar: The Supreme Court is set to hear the petition seeking the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood on August 14.
According to the cause list issued by the Apex Court registry, the statehood petition is listed for hearing before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India.
“The case is listed for hearing on August 14 before a bench headed by the Chief Justice of India,” advocate Soayib Qureshi told a news agency.
The case was mentioned on August 5 by senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan before a bench comprising Chief Justice of India B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran.
Sankaranarayanan informed the Court that the hearing was listed for August 8 on the Supreme Court website and requested that it not be removed from the cause list. The CJI had agreed to the request. However, the case was not listed on August 08.
The petition has been filed by Zahoor Ahmad Bhat, a lawyer and academician and Khurshaid Ahmad Malik, a socio-political activist.
The petition argues that the continued delay in restoring statehood violates the principle of federalism, which is part of the basic structure of the Constitution.
The petitioners have submitted that no steps have been taken to lay out a clear timeline or implement the Supreme Court’s December 2023 directive that ‘restoration of statehood shall take place at the earliest and as soon as possible’.
The plea is listed for hearing at a time when political momentum around the issue is building. The Congress party has launched a full-fledged campaign for restoration of statehood. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has written to all political parties, including BJP, to bring a bill in the Parliament during the ongoing monsoon session to restore J&K’s statehood.
