The Supreme Court today i.e., August 28, 2019, referred the petitions challenging the validity of the abrogation of special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the state into two Union Territories to a five-judge Constitution Bench.
The Bench of CJI Ranjan Gogoi, Justice S.A. Bobde and Abdul Nazeer said that the matters will be heard in October.
The court issued notice on the petitions overruling the objections of the Attorney General K.K. Venugopal and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that the issuance of notice will have a “cross-border repercussion”.
“Notice is issued for the purpose of intimating parties to be present for the hearing. We are already here,” said SG Mehta, adding that “it had repercussions in other countries”.
AG Venugopal, on the other hand, also urged the court not to issue notice submitting that Pakistan might use it against India in the UN.
The court, however, rejected their arguments and said that “We know what to do, we have passed the order, we are not going to change.”
National Conference leaders, IAS officer-turned-politician Shah Faesal, activist Shehla Rashid, Advocate M.L. Sharma and a Kashmiri lawyer are among the petitioners that have challenged the Centre’s August 5, 2019, decision to scrap Article 370.
The court also issued notice on the petition filed by Kashmir Times Executive Editor Anuradha Bhasin challenging the restrictions on press imposed in the region.
