A petition has been submitted to the Supreme Court of India requesting that the Union of India be directed to restore Jammu and Kashmir's statehood within a specified timeframe.

This petition has been filed in the writ case titled “In re: Article 370 of the Constitution,” which the Supreme Court decided in December 2023, affirming the government's decision to abrogate Article 370.

While upholding the abrogation of Article 370, the top court had ordered, "Restoration of statehood shall take place at the earliest and as soon as possible".

The court based its decision on Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's statement that the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir would be restored, with the exception of the Union Territory of Ladakh.

In light of the Solicitor General's statement, the court deemed it unnecessary to assess whether the reorganization of the State of Jammu and Kashmir into the two Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir was permissible under Article 3.

Citing the said directions, the application states, "even after passing of 10 months of the order dated 11.12.2023, till date the status of statehood of Jammu and Kashmir has not yet been restored which is gravely affecting the rights of the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir and also violating the idea of federalism".

The court has been informed that this matter is of significant urgency and importance, as Jammu and Kashmir recently conducted Legislative Assembly elections in three phases to elect 90 members, marking the first such elections in a decade.

"The results of the said elections are to be pronounced on 08.10.2024. It is submitted that the formation of the Legislative Assembly before the restoration of Statehood would cause serious reduction of democratically elected government in Jammu and Kashmir causing grave violation of the idea of federalism which forms part of the basic structure of the Constitution of India....", the court has been told.

Filed by Zahoor Ahmad Bhat, one of the petitioners in the original case, the application argues that the failure to restore Jammu and Kashmir's statehood in a timely manner violates the principle of federalism, which is an essential component of the Constitution of India's basic structure.

"Jammu and Kashmir being an individual state having gone through many struggles and hardships require a strong federal structure to help in developing the area and also celebrating its unique culture", the plea adds.

In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court of India upheld the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, which granted "special status" to the former state of Jammu and Kashmir. The court characterized Article 370 as a temporary provision designed to fulfill a transitional purpose in light of the war conditions in the region.

The verdict was delivered by a five-judge Constitution bench, which included Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices SK Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, and Surya Kant, after the bench reserved its decision on September 5, 2023.

Case Title:  IN RE ARTICLE 370 OF THE CONSTITUTION      
AND IN THE MATTER OF (APPLICATION): ZAHOOR AHMAD BHAT AND ANR. vs. UNION OF INDIA