The Supreme Court will hear a petition today seeking the immediate restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and the implementation of directions passed by a constitutional bench in December 2023. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai will hear the plea this morning.
On August 14, the top court had given the Centre two months to file its response. So far, no response has been filed.
On December 11, 2023, a Constitution Bench had upheld the abrogation of Article 370 but directed the central government to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir "at the earliest, as soon as possible." The Union government had also submitted before the court that the "status of J&K as a Union territory is temporary and its statehood will be restored."
Following the central government's assurance on the restoration of statehood, the court stated that it would not determine whether turning a state into a union territory was permissible under Article 3 of the Constitution.
"In view of the submission made by the Solicitor General that statehood would be restored of Jammu and Kashmir, we do not find it necessary to determine whether the reorganisation of the State of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir is permissible under Article 3," a five-judge constitutional bench had said.
The plea now seeks the restoration of statehood, terming the delay in restoration a violation of the country's federal structure.
Jammu and Kashmir was stripped of its statehood and special status under Article 370 in August 2019. Since then, the Centre has repeatedly assured the people of Jammu and Kashmir that statehood will be restored "at an appropriate time."
Recently, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wrote to leaders of all political parties, including the BJP and Congress, urging them to introduce a bill in the parliament to restore the statehood.
Abdullah said that the restoration of statehood was not a favour but an essential course correction. He cautioned leaders that the precedent of downgrading a state into a union territory will have unsettling consequences for the country, and it should be the red line that must never be crossed.
"The restoration must not be viewed as a concession but as an essential course correction—one that prevents us from sliding down a dangerous and slippery slope where the statehood of our constituent states is no longer regarded as a foundational and sacred constitutional right but reduced instead to a discretionary favour bestowed at the will of the central government," said Abdullah.
