The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre to respond to the demand to fix a timeline to restore statehood to Jammu & Kashmir, which was divided into two Union Territories (UTs) in 2019.
A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran asked Centre to file its response within six weeks, Bar and Bench reported.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the government, told the apex court that the Centre was in touch with the elected government of J&K, and that wider concerns had to be accounted for before a final decision could be taken on said demand.
"Learned SG states that elections to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly were held in a peaceful manner and an elected government was put in place. It is stated that there has been substantial progress in Jammu and Kashmir, but certain incidents, including the Pahalgam attack, have taken place and all will have to be taken into consideration before a final call (is taken on the restoration of statehood). It is stated that the Centre and State are in consultation. Learned SG seeks more time to respond. We grant 6 weeks time to respond to the submissions made by the petitioners," the apex court's order said.
In 2019, following the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, the state of Jammu & Kashmir was carved into two UTs, namely Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh.
While the decision to abrogate Article 370 was later upheld by the Supreme Court, the Constitution Bench of the apex court refused to pass a ruling on the 2019 law that paved the way for the bifurcation of the state into two UTs.
The decision to not rule on the law's validity was predicated on SG Tushar Mehta's assurances to the apex court that J&K's status as a UT would be temporary and that statehood would be restored to the region in due time.
