New Delhi, August 5(HS): A

The Supreme Court will hear a plea on 8 August for restoring statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan requested that the date not be deleted, and the Bench confirmed it will remain on the causelist.

The plea, filed by college teacher Zahoor Ahmed Bhat and activist Khurshid Ahmad Malik, argues that the delay in restoring statehood infringes on citizens' rights.

Presently, Jammu and Kashmir functions as a Union Territory under a coalition government led by the National Conference, with Congress support. The region was bifurcated into Union Territories—Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh—after Article 370 was abrogated in 2019, a decision upheld by the Constitution Bench in December 2023.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar