The Supreme Court will hear a batch of petitions – challenging the law used to scrap Article 370 – after the summer holidays.
Challenging the Union government’s abrogation of Article 370 and the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganization Act 2019, numerous petitions had piled up under a constitution bench set up by justice N V Ramana from the year 2019.
Over the two years, the SC on Monday noted the senior advocate Shekar Naphade’s recommendations, as he represents one such petitioner in the J&K issue. He stressed the ongoing state exercises and hinted at the urgency behind listing.
In 2019 the then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi had referred all the petitions regarding the abrogation of Article 370 and J&K Reorganization Act under a five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice N V Ramana.
On Monday the present CJI said that it’s a five-judge matter and he would have to reconstitute the bench.
The SC had agreed to reconstitute the constitutional bench to hear pleas post summer vacation, which is scheduled from May 23 to July 11.
After revoking Articles 370 and 35-A of the constitution, which ensured the state limited autonomy and territorial sovereignty, Kashmiri rights activists, J & K politicians and journalists alleged that the Indian government put Kashmir under an intense military siege.
The New Delhi deployed tens of thousands of troops to the Valley, started arresting anyone daring who voiced their dissent, imposed curfews, shut down the internet and phone lines.
The Valley is now being governed governor Manoj Sinha who is a former BJP minister and a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
This article first appeared on maktoobmedia.com
