Supreme Court To Hear Plea For J&K Statehood Restoration On 8 August

The Supreme Court will hear on 8 August a plea demanding the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, reported Bar and Bench.

Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan mentioned the matter on 5 August before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai.

“The date shows as 8 August. Let it not be deleted,” Sankaranarayanan urged. The Bench agreed and assured the case would remain on the day’s causelist.

College teacher Zahoor Ahmed Bhat and activist Khurshid Ahmad Malik filed the plea, arguing that the delay in restoring statehood to Jammu and Kashmir gravely affects citizens' rights.

The petition, filed during last year’s Assembly elections in the Union Territory, also claimed that forming a Legislative Assembly before restoring full statehood violates the federal structure, which is a basic feature of the Constitution.

Currently, a coalition government led by the National Conference, backed by Congress and some independent MLAs, governs Jammu and Kashmir as a Union Territory.

The bifurcation of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories—Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh—occurred after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, which had granted special status to the region.

In December 2023, a Constitution Bench upheld the abrogation of Article 370. In May 2024, the Court dismissed review petitions challenging this decision. The Bench had declined to rule on the law enabling bifurcation but recorded Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s assurance that J&K’s Union Territory status is temporary and statehood will be restored.

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