SC to decide if larger bench will hear pleas

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will decide on Monday whether or not the petitions challenging the nullification of Article 370 of the Constitution, that granted special privileges to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, should be heard by a larger bench of not less than seven judges.

A five-judge Constitution bench, presided by Justice N V Ramana and comprising justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, R Subhash Reddy, BR Gavai and Surya Kant, reserved its order on reference of the case to a larger bench on January 23.

On August 2, 2019, the central government 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 -Jammu and Kashmir with a legislative assembly and Ladakh without one. At least 23 petitions were filed in the Supreme Court challenging the central government’s decision. Senior counsel Dinesh Dwivedi, who was appearing for an intervenor in the case, had pointed out that two earlier SC judgments, Prem Nath Kaul (1959) and Sampat Prakash (1968), are at loggerheads with regard to the scope and intent of article 370. Since both these judgments were delivered by benches of five judges, Dwivedi had asked the court to refer the issue to a bench of seven or more judges.

In Sampat Prakash judgement, the Supreme Court held that Article 370 will cease to be operative only if the President issues a direction to that effect on a recommendation made by the Constituent Assembly of Jammu & Kashmir. In Prem Nath Kaul verdict, the Supreme Court ruled that plenary powers of the ruler of Kashmir were not limited by Article 370.

The temporary provisions of Article 370, the court ruled, were based on the assumption that the ultimate relationship between India and Jammu & Kashmir would be finally determined by the Constituent Assembly of Jammu & Kashmir.