THE SUPREME COURT WILL HEAR on August 8 an application seeking directions to the Union government for the time-bound restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. The erstwhile state was stripped of its statehood following the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, which accorded special status to the region, and subsequently bifurcated into the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
During a brief mentioning before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan sought that the matter—already listed for August 8— not be deleted from the cause list.
CJI Gavai assured that the case would not be deleted from that day’s cause list.
The application states that despite assurances given by the Centre during the hearing on the abrogation of Article 370, no steps have yet been taken to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. Petitioners Zahoor Ahmed Bhat, a college lecturer, and activist Khurshid Ahmad Mali have submitted that continued inaction violates the federal structure—which is part of the Constitution’s basic structure—and undermines the democratic rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
The application has been filed in the already adjudicated matter titled ‘In Re: Article 370’, in which a five-judge Constitution Bench on December 11, 2023, unanimously upheld the Centre’s August 2019 decision to abrogate Article 370 and reorganise the state into two Union Territories.
While the Court had refrained from deciding whether such reorganisation under Article 3 was constitutionally valid, it did take note of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s statement during the hearings that statehood would be restored to Jammu and Kashmir—excluding Ladakh.
The petitioners now urge the Court to give effect to that assurance, arguing that more than ten months have passed since the judgment and yet no step has been taken to begin the process of restoring full statehood.
“The delay in restoring statehood seriously undermines the federal structure and constitutional rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” the application states. It further contends that holding Legislative Assembly elections in the absence of statehood would amount to establishing a diminished form of democratic self-governance, contrary to the principles of Indian federalism.
The petition adds that converting the state into a Union Territory has already weakened representative governance in the region, and that further delay would inflict irreversible harm to the constitutional rights and autonomy of its people.
The applicants have requested the Court to direct the Union government to restore statehood within a two-month timeframe, warning that prolonged delay could gravely damage the region’s democratic structure, constitutional identity, and territorial integrity.
In its December 11, 2023, judgment upholding the abrogation of Article 370, the Supreme Court had directed the Election Commission of India to conduct elections to the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly by September 30, 2024. The bench had further stated that statehood must be restored “at the earliest and as soon as possible.”
The present application seeking restoration of statehood was formally filed on October 8, 2024. It was earlier mentioned before a bench of then Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud (since retired) , and Justices J.B. Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra on October 17, 2024, at which time the Court had assured that the matter would be listed.
