New Delhi: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on August 8 a petition seeking the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, which was downgraded to a Union Territory in 2019 following the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution.
The matter was mentioned today before a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai by Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who urged the Court to retain the matter on the cause list for August 8. “The date shows as August 8. Let it not be deleted,” he submitted. The Bench agreed to keep the matter listed. The plea has been filed by Zahoor Ahmed Bhat, a college teacher, and Khurshid Ahmad Malik, a political activist. It challenges the delay in restoring full statehood to the region, contending that the prolonged Union Territory status undermines the democratic and constitutional rights of its residents.
The petitioners argue that holding elections and forming a Legislative Assembly before granting statehood would be contrary to the principle of federalism, a part of the basic structure of the Constitution, as laid down in the landmark Kesavananda Bharati case. They emphasise that full statehood must precede any meaningful legislative process to ensure representative governance.
The former state of Jammu and Kashmir was stripped of its special constitutional status on August 5, 2019, through the abrogation of Article 370. Subsequently, Parliament passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, bifurcating the state into two Union Territories, Jammu and Kashmir (with a Legislative Assembly) and Ladakh (without one). The Supreme Court, in its December 2023 judgment, upheld the constitutional validity of the abrogation of Article 370 and declined to strike down the reorganisation of the region. However, the Constitution Bench, headed by then CJI DY Chandrachud, did not conclusively rule on the legality of converting a full-fledged state into a Union Territory, terming it a “transitory arrangement.”
During the hearings, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had assured the Court that the Union Territory status of Jammu and Kashmir was temporary and that statehood would be restored in due course. This statement was noted and recorded by the Court in its final judgment. Despite this assurance, no concrete timeline has been provided by the Centre so far, prompting fresh concerns and legal challenges. The current petition seeks to revisit the issue in the light of these developments. Notably, in recent months, political activity in the region has intensified. A coalition government comprising the National Conference, the Indian National Congress, and independent legislators currently holds sway in the newly constituted Legislative Assembly of the Union Territory. The upcoming hearing on August 8 is expected to revive the constitutional and political debate around Jammu and Kashmir’s future status within the Union of India.
