SC refuses to hear fresh plea against Article 370

The apex court tagged the plea with pending petitions

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a fresh petition challenging Article 370 of the Constitution giving special autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir, but tagged it with the pending petitions on Article 35A allowing ownership of land only to the state’s residents.

The petitions against Article 35A were adjourned to the first week of April on a request by both Centre and the J&K govt. A Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah had agreed to adjournment after Attorney General KK Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, sought adjournment on the ground that the current situation in the state is very sensitive. The state sought adjournment in view of the 9-phase panchayat poll in progress.

Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi and advocate Shoeb Alam, appearing for J&K opposed the Bench’s directive to implead the petition, asserting that the two issues are entirely different and should not be mixed.

The Court refused to hear afresh petition to abrogate Article 370 since on April 3, it had already ruled that Article 370 of the Constitution is not a temporary provision and in an earlier verdict in 2017 in the SARFESI case, it has been already held that Article 370 was “not a temporary provision.”

The court was hearing an appeal filed by petitioner Kumari Vijayalakshmi Jha, against the Delhi High Court’s April 11, 2017 order dismissing the plea seeking a declaration that Article 370 is temporary in nature.