Latest news with #ReorganisationAct
Time of India
5 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Can't ignore Pahalgam while deciding on J&K statehood: Supreme court
NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Thursday sought the Centre's response to a petition seeking restoration of statehood to Jammu & Kashmir, but said such a decision could not be taken without considering prevailing gro-und situation and incidents like Pahalgam, where terrorists had killed 26 people in cold blood on April 22. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for Zahoor Ahmed Bhat, said that the judgment of SC's 5-judge bench led by then CJI and comprising current CJI B R Gavani had on December 11, 2023, upheld the Centre's decision to scrap Article 370 that gave special status to J&K and the bifurcation of the state into two UTs - J&K and Ladakh on the basis of SG Tushar Mehta'a categorical "restoration of statehood shall take place at the earliest and as soon as possible" assurance. After more than one and half years, statehood had not been restored, Sankaranarayan said. Mehta said elections to the assembly of J&K had been held, as was promised in 2023 to the apex court. "SC is aware of the peculiar situation prevailing in J&K. Several aspects have to be taken into consideration before a decision on granting statehood to J&K can be taken. This is not the time (for petitioners) to muddy the waters," he said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Get Premium SCO plots at an offer price till 31st August Microtek Grandfront, Gurugram Undo The CJI Gavai-led bench agreed with the SG. "One has to take into consideration the ground realities prevailing in J&K. The Pahalgam incident cannot be ignored," the bench said, and asked the Centre to file its response to the statehood demand in eight weeks. In the Dec 2023 judgment, the five-judge bench had recorded: "The solicitor general stated that the statehood of Jammu & Kashmir will be restored (except for the carving out of Union Territory of Ladakh). In view of the statement we do not find it necessary to determine whether the reorganisation of the State of Jammu & Kashmir into two Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir is permissible under Article 3 of the Constitution. " "However, we uphold the validity of the decision to carve out the Union Territory of Ladakh in view of Article 3(a) read with Explanation I which permits forming a Union Territory by separation of a territory from any state. We direct that steps shall be taken by Election Commission of India to conduct elections to the legislative assembly of Jammu & Kashmir constituted under Section 14 of the Reorganisation Act by 30 September 2024. Restoration of statehood shall take place at the earliest and as soon as possible," the five-judge bench had said.
Hans India
6 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Supreme Court seeks Centre's stand on pleas seeking restoration of J&K statehood
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday sought the Union government's stand on a batch of applications demanding the time-bound restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. A Bench of CJI B.R. Gavai and K. Vinod Chandran was hearing pleas contending that the continued delay in restoring statehood is "gravely affecting the rights of the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir and also violating the idea of federalism". The applications argued that the failure to restore statehood within a time-bound framework amounts to a violation of federalism, which forms part of the Basic Structure of the Constitution. 'It has been 21 months since the Article 370 judgment. There has been no movement towards the restoration of statehood,' submitted senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, adding that the Constitution Bench had trusted the Union government when the Solicitor General assured it that statehood would be restored. On the other hand, Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, questioning the maintainability of the applications, urged the apex court to consider the 'peculiar position' in Jammu and Kashmir and sought that the pleas be listed after eight weeks, saying this was not the 'correct stage' to consider the matter. 'The MAs (miscellaneous applications) are not maintainable. We had assured two things: the election would be held, and thereafter, the statehood. Your lordships are aware of the peculiar position emerging from this part of our country. There are several considerations,' said SG Mehta. 'I don't know why, at this stage, this issue is agitated, but list it after 8 weeks. I will take instructions. My prayer is for eight weeks because this particular stage is not the correct stage to muddy the water,' Mehta added. After hearing the submissions, the CJI Gavai-led Bench listed the matter after eight weeks. In 're: Article 370 of the Constitution' verdict, a 5-judge Constitution Bench, headed by then CJI D.Y. Chandrachud, had left open the question of whether the Parliament can extinguish the character of statehood by converting a state into one or more Union Territories, relying on an oral statement made on Centre's behalf that statehood would be restored to Jammu and Kashmir. In the course of the oral hearing, the Solicitor General, the second-highest law officer of the Centre, had submitted that the Union Home Ministry cannot give any exact timeframe and it would take "some time" for the restoration of statehood in Jammu and Kashmir. However, the Constitution Bench, also comprising Justices S.K. Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, Gavai and Surya Kant, had ordered the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take steps to conduct elections to the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir, constituted under Section 14 of the Reorganisation Act, by September 30, 2024, and said that "restoration of statehood shall take place at the earliest and as soon as possible". It had upheld the status of Ladakh as a Union Territory under Article 3(a) read with Explanation I of the Constitution, which permits the formation of a Union Territory by separating a territory from any state. In May 2024, the Supreme Court dismissed review petitions challenging its verdict, stating there was 'no error apparent on the face of the record' and refused to list the matter in open court.
India.com
6 days ago
- Politics
- India.com
Supreme Court To Hear Petitions On Restoring Jammu & Kashmir Statehood OnThursday
The Supreme Court is slated to hear on Thursday a clutch of applications seeking restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir in a time-bound manner. As per the causelist published on the website of the apex court, a Bench of CJI BR Gavai and K Vinod Chandran will take up the matter for hearing on August 14 a day before Independence Day. Last week, CJI Gavai agreed to retain the pleas for hearing on board after it was mentioned by senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan. One of the miscellaneous applications, filed by Zahoor Ahmed Bhat and activist Khurshaid Ahmad Malik, contended that the continued delay in restoring statehood is "gravely affecting the rights of the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir and also violating the idea of federalism". The applicants argued that the failure to restore statehood within a time-bound framework amounts to a violation of federalism, which forms part of the Basic Structure of the Constitution. In 're: Article 370 of the Constitution' verdict, a 5-judge Constitution Bench, headed by then CJI D.Y. Chandrachud, had left open the question of whether the Parliament can extinguish the character of statehood by converting a state into one or more Union Territories, relying on the statement made by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that statehood would be restored to Jammu and Kashmir. In the course of the oral hearing, SG Mehta, the second-highest law officer of the Centre, had submitted that the Union Home Ministry cannot give any exact timeframe and it would take "some time" for the restoration of statehood in Jammu and Kashmir. However, the Constitution Bench, also comprising Justices S.K. Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, Gavai and Surya Kant, had ordered the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take steps to conduct elections to the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir, constituted under Section 14 of the Reorganisation Act, by September 30, 2024, and said that "restoration of statehood shall take place at the earliest and as soon as possible". It had upheld the status of Ladakh as a Union Territory under Article 3(a) read with Explanation I of the Constitution, which permits the formation of a Union Territory by separating a territory from any state. In May 2024, the Supreme Court dismissed review petitions challenging its verdict, stating there was 'no error apparent on the face of the record' and refused to list the matter in open court.
India.com
08-08-2025
- Politics
- India.com
SC To Hear Plea Seeking Restoration Of Jammu And Kashmir Statehood Today
The Supreme Court will hear a petition seeking directions to the Central Government to restore statehood to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday. The plea was mentioned before Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai by senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who confirmed that the matter has been listed for hearing on August 8 (Friday). The petition, filed by Zahoor Ahmed Bhat and activist Khurshaid Ahmad Malik, contends that the continued delay in restoring statehood is 'gravely affecting the rights of the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir and also violating the idea of federalism.' The applicants argue that the failure to restore statehood within a time-bound framework amounts to a violation of federalism, which forms part of the Basic Structure of the Constitution. "In re: Article 370 of the Constitution" verdict, a 5-judge Constitution Bench, headed by then CJI D.Y. Chandrachud, had left open the question of whether the Parliament can extinguish the character of statehood by converting a state into one or more Union Territories, relying on the statement made by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that statehood would be restored to Jammu and Kashmir. However, it had ordered the Election Commission of India to take steps to conduct elections to the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir, constituted under Section 14 of the Reorganisation Act, by September 30, 2024, and said that "restoration of statehood shall take place at the earliest and as soon as possible". During the earlier hearings, SG Mehta had told the court that the Union Home Ministry could not provide a specific timeline and that it would take 'some time' to restore statehood. In May 2024, the Supreme Court dismissed review petitions challenging its verdict, stating there was 'no error apparent on the face of the record' and refused to list the matter in open court.
Indian Express
05-08-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Supreme Court to hear plea to restore statehood of Jammu and Kashmir on August 8
The Supreme Court will hear an application seeking directions to the Centre to restore the statehood of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir Friday, August 8. Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranayranan, appearing for the applicants Zahoor Ahmed Bhat and activist Khurshaid Ahmad Malik, requested Chief Justice of India B R Gavai that the matter not be deleted from that day's cause list. CJI Gavai agreed to the request. The application said that even after the SC ruling upholding the abrogation of Article 370, which conferred special status on J-K, no steps had been taken to restore statehood and that this violates federalism. 'The non-restoration of the status of statehood of Jammu and Kashmir in a time-bound manner violates the idea of federalism, which forms a part of the basic structure of the Constitution of India,' it said. The application pointed out that the elections to the Union Territory Assembly were held peacefully, showing that there are no security concerns, violence or any other disturbances which would hinder or prevent the restoration of J-K's statehood. On December 11, 2023, a five-judge Constitution Bench had upheld the 2019 move by the Centre to abrogate Article 370, which gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, as constitutionally valid. 'The Solicitor General stated that the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir will be restored (except for the carving out of the Union Territory of Ladakh). In view of the statement, we do not find it necessary to determine whether the reorganisation of the State of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir is permissible under Article 3,' said the ruling. Directing that steps shall be taken by the Election Commission of India to conduct elections to the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir, constituted under Section 14 of the Reorganisation Act, by 30 September 2024, the ruling also added that 'restoration of statehood shall take place at the earliest and as soon as possible.'
