The Supreme Court is hearing a batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 of the constitution that accorded special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud has been conducting day-to-day hearings. The bench on August 2 commenced hearing a batch of pleas challenging the Centre's August 5, 2019 decision, a move that had come in for vicious attack by some major opposition parties but earned fulsome praise from those supporting the BJP.
Earlier on August 5, 2019, the Centre abrogated Article 370 granting special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the erstwhile state into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The bench, also comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai and Surya Kant, had on July 11 fixed July 27 as the deadline for filing written submissions and convenience compilations by different parties.
Hearing on a day-to-day basis
The five-judge bench had said the hearing will be held on a day-to-day basis except on Mondays and Fridays, which are days for hearing miscellaneous matters in the apex court. Only fresh petitions are taken up on these days for admission hearing and regular matters are not heard.
It had appointed two lawyers -- one each from the petitioners' and the government's side -- to prepare convenience compilation and file it before July 27, and made it clear that after the said date no documents will be accepted.
A convenience note gives the court a snapshot of the entire case to assist it in quickly appreciating the facts.
It had said the Centre's affidavit with regard to the conditions prevailing in Jammu and Kashmir after the August 5, 2019 notification repealing Article 370 will have no bearing on the constitutional issue to be adjudicated by the five-judge bench. On that day the Centre had stripped the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir of its special status and bifurcated it into two union territories.
(With PTI inputs)
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