The Supreme Court on Thursday emphasised that restoring the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir must account for ground realities, noting that incidents like those in Pahalgam cannot be overlooked. The bench, comprising Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran, highlighted the need to consider security and local circumstances before any restoration.
“You cannot ignore what happened in Pahalgam,” the bench observed, as it heard petitions seeking directions to reinstate the Union Territory’s statehood.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, said the government had committed to restoring statehood after elections but cautioned that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir was “peculiar”. He added, “This is not the time for petitioners to muddy the waters,” and requested eight weeks to take instructions from the government on the matter.
The petitions were filed by college teacher Zahoor Ahmed Bhat and activist Khurshaid Ahmad Malik through advocate Soyaib Qureshi. The applicants argued that despite assurances by the Solicitor General, the Union had taken no concrete steps to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood following the Supreme Court’s 2023 verdict upholding the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the state into two Union Territories.
“The applicants, being the conscious citizens of Jammu and Kashmir, are aggrieved that, even after passing of 10 months of the order dated August 11, 2023, till date no steps have been taken to restore the status of statehood of Jammu and Kashmir as a state which is gravely affecting the rights of the inhabitants of Jammu and Kashmir and also violating the basic structure of federalism; and it is for that reason that the applicants have preferred the present application to seek appropriate directions to the Union of India for restoration of the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir in a time-bound manner within a period of two months,” the application stated.
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The petitioners contended that delaying the restoration would severely impact federal principles and democratic governance in Jammu and Kashmir. They highlighted that assembly elections were conducted peacefully and that any security concerns should not hinder the apex court from issuing directions for statehood reinstatement.
“Since the assembly elections were conducted peacefully, there would be no security concerns in case the apex court passed a direction to restore statehood to the Union Territory within a time-bound period,” the application submitted.
The plea further argued that the conversion of the state into two Union Territories has diminished the scope of elected governance, and any delay in restoring statehood would prejudice citizens, infringe fundamental rights, and undermine the territory’s democratic and federal structures.
“For Jammu and Kashmir, which has always had a federal relationship with the Union of India, it is of utmost importance that the status of statehood is restored so that they can enjoy an autonomy in their individual identity and also play an important part in the overall development of the Country,” the application added.
The Supreme Court had earlier, on December 11, 2023, upheld the 2019 abrogation of Article 370, terming it a “temporary provision”, while exempting Ladakh from future statehood restoration. The court also instructed the Election Commission of India to conduct Legislative Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir by September 30, 2024, and directed that statehood be reinstated “at the earliest and as soon as possible”.
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