<p>On Tuesday, the Central government informed the Supreme Court that when Article 370 was repealed, Jammu and Kashmir’s interim status as a Union Territory will be replaced with statehood. Ladakh would however continue to be a Union Territory.<img decoding=”async” class=”alignnone wp-image-151582″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/theindiaprint.com-supreme-court-1-sixteen-nine-11zon-750×422.jpg” alt=”theindiaprint.com supreme court 1 sixteen nine 11zon” width=”1393″ height=”784″ srcset=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/theindiaprint.com-supreme-court-1-sixteen-nine-11zon-750×422.jpg 750w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/theindiaprint.com-supreme-court-1-sixteen-nine-11zon-768×432.jpg 768w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/theindiaprint.com-supreme-court-1-sixteen-nine-11zon-390×220.jpg 390w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/theindiaprint.com-supreme-court-1-sixteen-nine-11zon-150×84.jpg 150w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/theindiaprint.com-supreme-court-1-sixteen-nine-11zon.jpg 948w” sizes=”(max-width: 1393px) 100vw, 1393px” title=”J&K's statehood will be restored, the Center informs SC 24″></p>
<p>A proclamation will shortly be issued, according to Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was speaking on behalf of the Central government.</p>
<p>He made this statement in answer to a question on the process and timeline for giving Jammu and Kashmir statehood from a five-judge constitution panel led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud.</p>
<p>“If there is a time range in mind, we need a declaration from the Central government on this. A crucial aspect of our country is the reestablishment of democracy. The five-judge constitution bench asked the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on the hearing’s 12th day, “Please explain us what the plan is for this.</p>
<p>On August 2, 2023, the hearing had begun.</p>
<p>The Constitution Bench, which also includes Chief Justice Chandrachud, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice B R Gavai, and Justice Surya Kant, is hearing a number of petitions that challenge the repeal of Article 370, which granted the former State of Jammu & Kashmir a special status, and the division of the State into Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh as two Union Territories.</p>
<p>The Union Territory (of J&K) is not a permanent feature, according to the instructions I have received from the Centre, and I will give a positive declaration the day after tomorrow, the Solicitor General Mehta told the court in response to a question from the bench. Ladakh would continue to be a part of the Union.</p>
<p>The Chief Justice Chandrachud questioned whether Parliament has the authority to turn a State into a Union Territory during today’s session.</p>
<p>The court inquired about the permanence of the region’s Union Territory status as the attorney general responded from the bench by citing the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act.</p>
<p>In response, he gave a negative response and said, “I would eventually show how the Central government’s intention is to restore Statehood and conduct elections.”</p>
<p>By abolishing Article 370 and dividing the once one state into the two Union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh on August 5, 2019, the Central government withdrew the unique status of Jammu and Kashmir.</p>
<p>The central government’s stance that Jammu and Kashmir would regain its statehood is not a recent one. Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister, has previously said that elections will follow the delimitation of Jammu and Kashmir’s state boundaries on October 23, 2021, during his visit there.</p>
<p>This was expressed by the Union home minister on his first trip to Jammu and Kashmir after the repeal of Article 370 and the division of the former state into two Union Territories.</p>
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