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SC to hear plea for restoration of J&K statehood on August 14

SC to hear plea for restoration of J&K statehood on August 14

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear, on Thursday, 14 August, an application filed by two residents of Jammu and Kashmir, college teacher Zahoor Ahmed Bhat and activist Khurshaid Ahmad Malik, seeking directions to the Centre to restore the statehood of the Union Territory.
According to the cause list of the apex court, a two-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran is expected to hear the pleas filed by Bhat and Malik, who were also petitioners in the original Article 370 abrogation matter, seeking the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood.
The petitioners submitted that the failure to restore the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir was gravely affecting the rights of its citizens.
Earlier, during a hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, contended that Jammu and Kashmir's status as a Union Territory is temporary and that statehood will be restored to the region, except for the Union Territory of Ladakh.
The application has urged the apex court to pass appropriate directions at the earliest and in a time-bound manner, as the Union had undertaken earlier to do so.
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