NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday said that it may hear the pleas challenging the abrogation of Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir after the summer vacations.
Senior advocate Shekhar Naphade mentioned the matter before the bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana. He said that it requires urgent listing as the delimitation exercise is still going on in the state.
"Let me see… after summer vacations, I’ll have to discuss with the other judges... will have to constitute the bench," the CJI said.
The Supreme Court holidays are scheduled to be between May 23 to July 11.
The Supreme Court in March 2020 had refused to refer the pleas to a larger bench of seven judges. The matter was being heard by a five-judge Constitution bench presided by then Justice N V Ramana and comprising Justices S K Kaul, R Subhash Reddy, B R Gavai and Surya Kant. The matters haven’t been heard since then due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Justice R. Subhash Reddy retired this January.
A batch of petitions had been filed in the matter after the scrapping of Article 370 including that of private individuals, lawyers, activists and political parties like the National Conference, Sajjad Lone-led J&K Peoples Conference and CPI (M) leader Mohd Yousuf Tarigami.
The Centre on August 5, 2019 had scrapped the provision of Article 370 of the Constitution that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir now stands bifurcated into two Union territories i.e. J&K with a legislative assembly and Ladakh without one.