A Bench of Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran allowed the request of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who sought more time on the ground that the government was still finalising its position.
Supreme Court (Photo: IANS)
The Supreme Court on Friday granted the Central government an additional four weeks to submit its response to a batch of petitions seeking directions for the restoration of statehood to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
A Bench of Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran allowed the request of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who sought more time on the ground that the government was still finalising its position.
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Appearing for the Centre, Mehta told the Court that while normalcy and governance in Jammu and Kashmir had improved significantly, certain recent incidents—including the Pahalgam terror attack—required a careful evaluation before any final decision could be taken. “The Centre and the state are in consultation,” he said.
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The Solicitor General further informed the Bench that assembly elections had been held peacefully, resulting in an elected government as earlier assured to the Constitution Bench, which upheld the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories.
“The Central government is in consultation with the state government. The Jammu and Kashmir region has progressed; everyone is happy. 99.99 per cent of the people there treat the Government of India as their own government. So, all that they (petitioners) are saying must be taken with a pinch of salt,” Mehta submitted.
However, senior advocate Gopal Sankarnarayanan, appearing for one of the petitioners, reminded the Court of the Centre’s earlier assurance. “There was a solemn undertaking that the statehood would be restored. If that undertaking is not honoured, what remedy do we have?” he asked, requesting that the matter be placed before a five-judge Bench, as the original Article 370 verdict was delivered by one.
Earlier, while hearing the pleas, the Court had observed that restoration of statehood must depend on the prevailing ground situation. “You cannot ignore what happened in Pahalgam,” the Bench had remarked.
The petitions, filed by college lecturer Zahoor Ahmed Bhat and activist Khurshid Ahmad Malik, seek time-bound directions to reinstate Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood, citing the Centre’s earlier assurance and contending that the continued Union Territory status undermines federal principles and the constitutional rights of its residents.
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