Supreme Court on July 11 will take up pleas challenging the constitutionality of the Centre’s decision to revoke Article 370 in the state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The five-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud will consider 20 pleas.
The court’s decision to list the matters comes nearly four years after the Centre on August 5, 2019 scrapped the special status accorded to the then-state of Jammu & Kashmir and split it into two union territories. The Centre also scrapped Article 35A which ensured special rights and privileges for those who are defined as “permanent residents” of the erstwhile state. Since 2019, the Centre has been ruling in the newly formed union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Apart from CJI Chandrachud, the five-judge Constitution Bench also comprises Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai and Surya Kant. CJI Chandrachud and Justice Khanna replace ex-CJI NV Ramana and Justice R Subash Reddy who retired after March 2020, when the top court decided not to refer the case to a larger bench.
On July 11, the Constitution Bench listed the matter for directions. If the bench intends to hear the matter at the earliest, it is also likely to frame the scope of arguments and the timeline for all stakeholders to present their cases. The apex court will also consider if bureaucrat Shah Faesal—the lead petitioner—can withdraw his plea.
It is also pertinent to point out that if the matter is finally heard at this point, then the top court would have to conclude arguments and deliver its verdict before December 2023 when Justice Kaul retires.
Ex-CJI Ramana in July 2019 had constituted a five-judge bench to hear pleas challenging the constitutionality of the Centre’s decision. The bench at the time had refused to stay the Centre’s move to bifurcate the former state into two union territories. “The court can put the clock back… But it cannot hear such a matter without getting a response from the government,” the former top judge had said on pleas to stay the Centre’s move.