Will hear pleas against Article 370 abrogation after vacation: Supreme Court

New Delhi, April 25

The petitions challenging the nullification of Article 370 could be taken up for hearing after summer vacation, the Supreme Court indicated on Monday. “Let me see… after vacation. This is a five-judge matter. I will have to reconstitute Bench, etc.,” a Bench led by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana told senior advocate Shekhar Naphade after he submitted on behalf of a petitioner that the matter needed an urgent hearing in view of the ongoing delimitation exercise in J&K.

The top court had on August 28, 2019 referred such petitions to a five-judge Constitution Bench. In March 2020, it had refused to refer it to a larger Bench of seven judges.

The petitions were originally referred to a Constitution Bench led by Justice NV Ramana in 2019 by the then CJI Ranjan Gogoi. Besides Justice Ramana, Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, R Subhash Reddy (since retired), BR Gavai, and Surya Kant were part of the Bench. Now, the five-judge Bench will have to be reconstituted in view of Justice Reddy’s retirement in January this year.

The J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019, which divided the state into the two UTs of J&K and Ladakh, has already been acted upon. The changes came into effect on October 31, 2019 after being notified in the official gazette.

There are around two dozen such petitions, including those by Delhi-based advocate ML Sharma, J&K-based lawyer Shakir Shabir, National Conference Lok Sabha MPs Mohammad Akbar Lone and Justice Hasnain Masoodi (retired), bureaucrat-turned-politician Shah Faesal and his party colleague Shehla Rashid.

There is another public interest litigation (PIL) filed by former interlocutor for J&K Radha Kumar, Air Vice Marshal Kapil Kak (retired), Major General Ashok Mehta (retired) and ex-IAS officers Hindal Haidar Tyabji, Amitabha Pande and Gopal Pillai.

Former J&K MLA Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami had moved the SC in August last year seeking an early hearing of petitions challenging the validity of the abrogation of special status of the erstwhile state.

Earlier, the Sajad Gani Lone-led J&K People’s Conference (JKPC) had in November 2020 demanded an early hearing of the petitions challenging the nullification of Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution.

Over 20 petitions await hearing

• There are around two dozen petitions challenging the scrapping of Articles 370 and 35A and bifurcation of the erstwhile state into UTs of J&K and Ladakh
• Among the petitioners are J&K-based lawyer Shakir Shabir, Shah Faesal, LS MPs Mohammad Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi

5-judge matter

This is a five-judge matter. I will have to reconstitute the Bench. — A Bench, headed by the CJI