Supreme Court agrees to hear petition seeking statehood restoration to J&K

Srinagar, Oct 17: The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to consider a petition, seeking a time-bound restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan file the application before three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, requesting it be listed.
Sankaranarayanan highlighted the need for a time-bound restoration of statehood in the Article 370 matter and asked for an urgent hearing. The chief justice agreed to consider the request.
The application was filed as a miscellaneous application in the case related to Article 370 of the Constitution, where the Supreme Court had upheld the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status.
Although the court did not directly rule on the constitutionality of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act 2019, which changed the region's status to a Union Territory, it had directed that statehood be restored “as soon as possible,” without specifying a timeline.
Applicants Zahoor Ahmed Bhat, a college teacher, and Khurshid Ahmad Malik, an activist, noted that despite the assurance of statehood restoration, the Union Government has taken no action in 11 months following the judgment.