New Delhi, Oct 10: The Supreme Court on Friday gave the Centre four weeks to file its response on a batch of pleas seeking restoration of statehood to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran was hearing multiple pleas, including those filed by academician Zahoor Ahmad Bhat and socio-political activist Ahmad Malik, pressing for the implementation of the Centre’s assurance to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir “at the earliest”.

They referred to the Centre’s assurance on statehood for the union territory during the hearings on the abrogation of Article 370.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told the bench that elections in the region were conducted peacefully last year but the government

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