Centre in Supreme Court: In talks with J&K government on statehood restoration

NEW DELHI: The Centre on Friday informed Supreme Court that it is in consultation with the elected government of J&K - which was divided into UTs of J&K and Ladakh alongside scrapping of the contentious Article 370 on Aug 5, 2019 - on the issue of restoration of statehood without disturbing the UT status of Ladakh.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta told a bench of Chief Justice of India B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran that elections were held peacefully in the UT and an elected government is in place. However, restoration of statehood is under consideration of the Union government, which is consulting the UT government. "The Centre will respond to the pleas for restoration of statehood to J&K in four weeks," he said.

SC adjourned hearing on a bunch of pleas, including those filed by lecturer Zahoor Ahmed Bhat, sitting MLA Irfan Hafiz Lone, Prem Shankar Jha and Radha Kumar, who was one of the three interlocutors for J&K appointed by the UPA government's Cabinet Committee on Security in 2010.

Senior advocates Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for Bhat, said SC while upholding the scrapping of Article 370 had not adjudicated the constitutional validity of stripping J&K of its statehood on the promise of "their government that it would be restored soon after elections were held to the J&K assembly." Elections were held more than a year ago and still there is no sign of restoring statehood, which is in breach of the undertaking given by Mehta to the court. He said if the bench finds it appropriate, the issue can be referred to a five-judge bench.

Mehta protested loudly at the use of "their govt" jibe by Sankaranarayanan and said it is "our govt", as much mine as theirs and every Indian's. The use of "their govt" shows the petitioner's mindset, he said, adding that there are several considerations, including cross-border terrorism and incidents like the Pahalgam terrorist attack, which must be considered before deciding on restoration of statehood.

Senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy told SC that stripping a state of its statehood has serious consequences for federalism and informed the court that the J&K cabinet passed a resolution on Oct 18 last year advising the Lt Governor to take steps for restoration of statehood. Senior advocate Dinesh Dwivedi said the Centre has the power to dissolve a state government using powers under Article 356 to retain control but it cannot take away statehood.

Another counsel appearing for Radha Kumar alleged that there has been a steep rise in suicides and unemployment in J&K after it was reduced to UT and cited a report by a team led by former judge A P Shah. Mehta said these are the people who are using SC as a forum to peddle lies to defame India in the international forum.

"There has been substantial all-round development in the state and 99% of the people of J&K treat the Centre as their govt. There are certain events that have taken place, including the killing of innocent tourists by Pakistan-backed terrorists and these must be taken into consideration during a holistic review of situations to ensure national security prior to restoration of statehood," he said.