SAHIL BHAT
OCT 9: The Supreme Court will hear batch of petitions seeking the reinstatement of Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir on Friday.
It is learnt that the case is listed for hearing on October 10 before a bench headed by the Chief Justice of India.
Pertinent to mention, the Apex Court had stated in the previous hearing on August 14, that the real situation on the ground must be taken into consideration and that incidents such as the Pahalgam attack cannot be overlooked.
A bench comprising CJI BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran said, “You must also take into account the ground realities and you cannot ignore what happened in Pahalgam.”
The applicants – Zahoor Ahmed Bhat and Khurshaid Ahmed Bhat – had said that regardless of assurances for Statehood, the Union Government is showing apathy towards its restoration.
In December 2023, the Top Court supported the Abrogation of Article 370 but directed the Centre to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood “in the stipulated timeframe” and conduct the Assembly Election by September 2024.
After nullification of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The demand for the restoration of Statehood has been espoused by political outfits such as the National Conference (NC), People’s Democratic Party (PDP), J&K Congress, Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference (JKPC), and the Apni Party.
