The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a declaration that the Centre’s decision to abrogate Article 370, that took away the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, and deletion of Article 35A, was valid. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud slammed the plea calling it “misconceived” at a time when a constitution bench is already hearing the matter.
"What kind of a petition is this? Who has set your client up?” CJI Chandrachud asked.
“You are now seeking a declaration by this court that the abrogation of Article 370 is valid. Why should we issue that declaration on your petition? A declaration cannot be issued by this court with regard to the constitutional validity of the action of the Union Government. In any event, the issue of constitutional validity is pending before the constitution bench," the bench, also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, pointed out to the counsel appearing for the petitioner.
On August 5, 2019, the Centre decided to strip the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir of special status and bifurcate it into two union territories.
A five-judge constitution bench headed by the CJI is currently hearing arguments on a batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which split the erstwhile state into two union territories - Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
The apex court has also decided to not delve into the issue of whether the move was in the national interest but only examine whether there was any violation of the Constitution.
