The Supreme Court on Thursday sought a response from the Union Government on a plea seeking the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
The matter was listed for hearing after the counsel representing the appellants requested that it be taken up before the Independence Day festivities.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran also took note of the submission by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, that there were “several considerations which go into the decision-making process.”
It listed the plea filed by the academician Zahoor Ahmad Bhat and the political activist Parvez Ahmad Malik for a hearing after eight weeks.
“You cannot ignore what happened in Pahalgam… It is for Parliament and the Executive to make a decision,” CJI Gavai told senior lawyer Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for Bhat, who had sought an early hearing.
On December 11, 2023, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the Centre’s decision to abrogate Article 370, which accorded special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Though the Supreme Court had also advised the Union Government to conduct assembly elections by September 2024 and restore statehood at the earliest, it did not specify any deadline.
Last year, a plea was also filed in the top court seeking directions to the Centre to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir within two months.
Read More: J&K CM Omar writes to 42 parties for 'statehood' support in Parl
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