New Delhi, Feb 18: The Supreme Court of India on Monday said that it would look into the plea seeking urgent hearing of a PIL challenging the constitutional validity of Article 370 of the Constitution, which grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi took note of the submission of lawyer and BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay that his plea was of “extreme national importance” and needed to be listed for urgent hearing.
“Give the mentioning memo to the Registrar. We will see it,” the bench, which also comprised Justice Sanjiv Khanna, said.
Upadhyay, in his plea which was filed in September last year, has contended that the special provision was “temporary in nature at the time of framing of the Constitution and Article 370(3) lapsed with the dissolution of the Jammu and Kashmir Constituent Assembly on January 26, 1957.”
The plea also seeks a declaration from the apex court that the separate Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir was “arbitrary” and “unconstitutional” on various grounds, including that it was against the “supremacy of the Constitution of India and contrary to dictum of ‘One Nation, One Constitution, One National Anthem and One National Flag'”.
“The Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir is invalid mainly for the reason that the same has not yet got the assent of the President, which is mandatory as per provisions of the Constitution of India,” the plea, which may come up for hearing next week, said.
The petition, filed through advocate R D Upadhyay, claims that the maximum life span of Article 370 was “only till the existence of the Constituent Assembly that was January 26, 1950 when the national document was adopted.”
Joint Hurriyat to people: ‘Observe shutdown on Art 35-A hearing day’
Srinagar, Feb 18: The Joint Hurriyat Leadership comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik on Monday urged the people to observe shutdown on the day(s) of hearing of Article 35A case in the Supreme Court.
In a statement, Joint Hurriyat said they were in constant touch with the Bar Association as the crucial hearing of article 35 A is again scheduled for February 20 and 21.
“The list of cases comes to fore in the evening a day before the case is listed for hearing, so whenever the case challenging the hereditary state subject law 35A that has a direct bearing on the Kashmir dispute comes up for hearing before the Indian supreme court, people will observe a complete protest strike,” they said in a joint statement.
Joint Hurriyat said the shutdown on the day when the case about Article 35 A would be heard by the Indian Supreme Court should send a clear message to entire India that any attempt to tamper with the J&K’s citizenship rights would not be tolerated.
“The series of petitions filed by BJP/RSS activists before the Indian Supreme Court is actually a move to change the demography of the State by allowing non-state residents to settle down here and change its Muslim majority character, an eyesore for communally minded outfits,” the statement said.
The leadership said that “people should brace themselves and be ready to launch an assertive campaign united with all on board.”
“It’s an issue of our very existence,” the leadership added.
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