Challenge to nullification of Article 370: Constitution Bench to commence hearing on Wednesday

Satya Prakash

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Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 1 

Four years after abrogation of special status of Jammu and Kashmir, the Supreme Court will on Wednesday commence hearing on petitions challenging the constitutional validity of nullification of Article 370 and bifurcation of the state into two union territories.

The matter will be taken up by a five-judge Constitution Bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud which will hear it on a day-to-day basis, except on Mondays and Fridays when the top court deals with miscellaneous matters. Other judges on the Constitution Bench were: Justice SK Kaul, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice BR Gavai and Justice Surya Kant.

There were more than 20 petitions challenging the Presidential Orders nullifying Article 370 and Article 35A of the Constitution; and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories – Jammu and Kashmir; and Ladakh. The petitioners included Delhi-based advocate ML Sharma, Jammu and Kashmir-based lawyer Shakir Shabir, National Conference Lok Sabha MPs Mohammad Akbar Lone and Justice (Retd) Hasnain Masoodi, former interlocutor for Jammu and Kashmir Radha Kumar, Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Kapil Kak, Major General (Retd) Ashok Mehta, and former IAS officers Hindal Haidar Tyabji, Amitabha Pande and Gopal Pillai. They wanted the top court to declare the August 5 Presidential Orders “unconstitutional, void and inoperative”.

The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which divided the state into two union territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, has already been acted upon. The changes came into effect on October 31, 2019 after being notified in the official gazette.

Since then, a delimitation exercise has been completed in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir and the number of seats increased from 83 to 90 (excluding 24 seats in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir).

On March 2, 2020, the top court had refused to refer petitions against nullification of Article 370 to a seven-judge Constitution Bench, saying there is no contradiction in its earlier verdicts in cases of Prem Nath Kaul and Sampat Prakash.

On July 11, 2023, the Bench had asked the parties to file their written submissions by July 27, failing which no more submissions shall be allowed.

The Centre has defended “historic” constitutional changes made in August 2019, saying they brought “unprecedented development, progress, security and stability to the region” which was often missing during the old Article 370 regime.

In an affidavit filed in the top court last month, it said there was a 90.2 per cent decline in net infiltration, 97.2 per cent decrease in law and order incidents, 65.9 per cent decline in security forces’ casualties and 42.5 per cent fall in terrorist-initiated incidents since August 2019. The improved security scenario has also led to the UT witnessing the “highest ever footfall of tourists viz. 1.88 Cr tourists” during 2022, it said.