The Supreme Court, hearing a batch of petitions challenging the scrapping of Article 370, asked the central government to give a timeframe on the restoration of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought a timeframe from the Centre to restore the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir, currently bifurcated into two Union Territories (UTs), and a roadmap for this progression.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud is hearing a batch of petitions challenging the scrapping of Article 370, which granted special powers to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. The former state was bifurcated into two UTs in 2019.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, told the court that the move to bifurcate Jammu and Kashmir into the UTs of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh was a “temporary measure”. He said while Jammu and Kashmir would be reverted as a state in the future, Ladakh would remain as a UT.
He also said he would be able to make a “positive statement” on August 31 after a meeting at the highest level.
Taking note of Mehta’s arguments, the bench asked, “How temporary is this? And when will elections be held in Jammu and Kashmir?”
“Is there a roadmap? You have to show us that. You have to make a statement before us to show how can you convert a state into a UT and how long will this continue. Restoration of democracy is important,” the bench said.
Mehta said that District Development Council (DDC) elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir in 2020, the first poll exercise after the scrapping of Article 370.
Highlighting the situation in Jammu and Kashmir before and after the abrogation of Article 370, Mehta said there were hartals and attacks due to which banks and educational institutions used to be shut down repeatedly.
“But now, there is peace and normalcy. When the state reorganisation takes place, there is a blueprint for how the government will work just like how the youth were taken into the mainstream,” he said.
