Supreme Court to hear plea to restore statehood of Jammu & Kashmir on August 8

The Supreme Court of India is scheduled to hear on Friday, August 8, an application seeking directions to the Union Government for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan mentioned the matter before Chief Justice of India BR Gavai, confirming that it was listed for hearing on that date and requested that it not be removed from the cause list. The Chief Justice accepted the request.

The application has been filed as a Miscellaneous Application in the disposed matter titled In Re: Article 370 of the Constitution. In its earlier verdict, the Supreme Court upheld the abrogation of Article 370, which removed Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status. However, the Court did not examine the constitutional validity of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which converted the state into two Union Territories—Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. The Court had noted the assurance given by the Solicitor General that statehood would be restored and directed that "Restoration of statehood shall take place at the earliest and as soon as possible," without setting a timeline.

The current petition has been filed by Zahoor Ahmed Bhat, a college teacher, and Khurshaid Ahmad Malik, an activist. They argue that eleven months have passed since the judgment, but the Centre has not taken any steps towards restoring statehood. The application states, “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.”

The petitioners claim that the peaceful conduct of Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir indicates that there are no security concerns or disturbances that could justify the continued Union Territory status. The application states, “Therefore, there is no impediment of security concerns, violence or any other disturbances which would hinder or prevent the grant/restoration of the status of Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir as had been assured by the Union of India in the present proceedings.”

August 5, 2025, marks six years since the Centre revoked Article 370 and bifurcated the former state into two Union Territories. On the same day, the Congress party is observing a “Black Day”, protesting the downgrading of Jammu and Kashmir from a state to a Union Territory, and has announced a dharna to press for the restoration of full statehood.