The Supreme Court (SC), hearing pleas challenging the abrogation of Article 370, has asked the central government to indicate if there is a time frame to restore the statehood for Jammu and Kashmir and a roadmap for this progression.Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, has been asked to come back with instructions on this after the launch break.Various petitions challenging the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019, which split the erstwhile state into two UTs (union territories), which are Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, were referred to a Constitution bench in 2019.On Monday, the central government told the apex court that the current status of Jammu and Kashmir as a union territory was temporary and its statehood would be restored.“Its necessary that for some time it remains under the union as a Union Territory. The Honble Home Minister has said in the House that this is a temporary measure. Ultimately, J&K will become a state,” Mehta told a five-judge Constitution bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud.
