Kashmir: These petitions will be heard by Constitution Bench of Supreme Court

On October 1, the Supreme Court will commence hearing the various petitions challenging the formal abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution and allied issues pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir..Constitution Bench.A Constitution Bench comprising Justices NV Ramana, Sanjay Kishan Kaul, R Subhash Reddy, BR Gavai and Surya Kant, dubbed the ‘Kashmir Bench’ will be hearing these matters..The first challenge mounted in this regard was by Advocate ML Sharma, who has filed a number of Public Interest Litigation petitions in the Supreme Court. The various petitions that are due to be heard by the Constitution Bench are as follows..ML Sharma .This petition challenges the Presidential order of August 5 by which Article 367 was amended thereby making Article 370 redundant. The Presidential Order also paved the way for the introduction of the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 which bifurcated the State of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories – Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, and Union Territory of Ladakh..Shakir Shabir.The petitioner is a Kashmiri Lawyer who has contended that the Presidential order of August 5 which had amended Article 367 is unconstitutional and void ab initio. It is the petitioner’s case that the amendment to Article 367 which resulted in the scrapping of Article 370 could not have been done in the manner in which it was done. It could have been done only by the Parliament. This was the first challenge mounted by a Kashmiri citizen..Jammu and Kashmir MPs, Mohammad Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi.The two petitioners are MPs of the J&K Parliament from the National Conference party. They have sought the quashing of the August 5 Presidential Order as well as the he Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Act, 2019 by which the State of Jammu & Kashmir was bifurcated into two Union Territories..Retired Military Officers and Bureaucrats.The petitioners have sought quashing of Presidential Order as well as Jammu & Kashmir (Reorganisation) Act, 2019. The petitioners argue that without ascertaining the will of the people either through its elected government or legislature or through public means such as referenda, the August 5 Presidential Order could not have been passed. It is contended that the controversial amendment has undermined the basic principle of democracy and the principles of Federalism. These petitioners include former MHA appointed interlocutor Radha Kumar; former IAS officer Hindal Haidar Tyabji; Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Kapil Kar; Major General (Retd) Ashok Kumar Mehta; former IAS officer Amitabha Pande and former IAS former Gopal Pillai..Soayib Qureshi.This petition, filed by a permanent resident of Jammu & Kashmir and a practising lawyer of the Apex Court, also challenges the Presidential Order and the Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Act, 2019. The challenge has been mounted on the ground that the controversial amendments could not have been effected without the concurrence and consent of the Jammu and Kashmir Government/State Legislature..Jammu & Kashmir People’s Conference.The petition was filed challenging the 2018 proclamation of Presidential rule in Jammu & Kashmir. The petitioners, Jammu & Kashmir People’s Conference and its Spokesperson Adnan Ashraf have also assailed the Presidential Orders of August 5 and August 6 on Article 370 and the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019..Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami.A fresh petition filed by CPI (M) leader Yusuf Tarigami challenging the abrogation of Article 370 was also tagged with the other Kashmir-related pleas today by the Supreme Court. Tarigami was one of the leaders detained in Jammu and Kashmir. He was shifted to AIIMS earlier this month on the orders of the Supreme Court after CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury moved a Habeas Corpus plea. On September 16, the Court allowed his return to Kashmir. A connected PIL by one, Rifat Ara Butt has also been listed with Tarigami’s petition..Petitions filed by others.The causelist for tomorrow also informs that the Supreme Court will hear petitions on the issue filed by Ganderbal-based businessman, Farooq Ahmed Dar; Delhi-based artist, Inder Salim alias Inder Ji; Muzzafar Iqbal Khan, a retired district judge in Jammu and Kashmir and a group of seven persons including former IAS officer Shah Faesal and activist Shehla Rashid. These petitions challenge the abrogation of Article 370..Three-Judge Bench.The plea filed by Executive Editor of the Kashmir Times, Anuradha Bhasin challenging the communications restrictions in the State; the petition filed by child rights activists with the lead petitioner Enakshi Ganguly against the alleged illegal detention of children by security personnel; the plea fled by Dr Sameer Kaul for the restoration of landlines and high-speed internet in hospitals and medical establishments, and other pleas filed by Sitaram Yechury, Asifa Mubeen and Mohammad Aleem Syed have been listed separately..These matters will be heard by a three-judge Bench comprising Justices NV Ramana, R Subhash Reddy, and BR Gavai, if the Constitution Bench does not sit for any reason, or if the hearing before the Constitution Bench gets over..The sole petition reported to have been filed in favour of the abrogation of Article 370 is by an advocate, Vineet Dandha. The petitioner had reportedly stated that there are persons provoking trouble in Jammu and Kashmir, which must be curbed. This petition has, however, not been mentioned in the causelist..The first step to the removal of Article 370 came on August 5, when the Constitution (Application to Jammu & Kashmir) Order, 2019, was introduced to supersede the Constitution (Application to Jammu & Kashmir) Order, 1954. The 1954 Order had listed out provisions of the Constitution of India that would not apply to Jammu and Kashmir. In its place, the 2019 Order was introduced to provide that all provisions of the Constitution of India will apply to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, with a few exceptions and modifications..Though the power to abrogate or modify Article 370 was conferred with the President under clause (3) of the Article, there was a pre-condition to the same – concurrence by the Constituent Assembly of the State of Jammu & Kashmir. The Constituent Assembly had, however, ceased to exist as far back as in the 1950s..In order to get over this hurdle, the Presidential Order under challenge here had amended Article 367 to replace the reference to Constituent Assembly under Article 370(3) to mean Legislative Assembly..Subsequently, the President had issued another order on August 6 making Article 370 redundant..The Presidential Order of August 5 also paved the way for the introduction of the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 which bifurcated the State of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories – Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, and Union Territory of Ladakh..[Read the Petitions].Read the Petition filed by the National Conference MPs.Read the Petition filed by Anuradha Bhasin.Read the Petition filed by the People’s National Conference.Read the Petition filed by retired Military Officers and Bureaucrats.Read the Petition filed by Shakir Shabir.Read the Petition filed by Soyaib Qureshi.Read the Petition against alleged illegal detention of children in Jammu and Kashmir.Read the Petition filed by Yusuf Tarigami.Read the Petition filed by Dr Sameer Kaul.Bar & Bench is available on WhatsApp. For real-time updates on stories, Click here to subscribe to our WhatsApp.