SC declines urgent hearing on PIL against axing Article 370

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to give early hearing to a mentioning by advocate Manohar Lal Sharma challenging the scrapping of Article 370 of the Constitution which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

A bench headed by Justice N.V. Ramana declining the request and said: "The matter would be placed before the appropriate bench, that is the bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, for listing the matter."

Sharma argued that there was urgency and that Pakistan was going to move the United Nations.

Justice Ramana quipped: "Do you think the UN will stay the Constitutional amendment by India?"

The PIL contends that the Gazette notification regarding Articles 370 and 35A was against the basic spirit of the Constitution and that the government acted in an arbitrary and unconstitutional manner. 

The petition claims that the President's order is unconstitutional and the Centre must take the parliamentary route. 

Sharma in his plea claimed that his challenge was in the interest of justice and fair play, and also for the protection of the life and liberty of the citizens of the country.

The Centre, through a Gazette notification on Monday, technically read down the Article 370 in the Constitution. 

Article 35A has been scrapped by suspension of the 1954 presidential order and all the provisions of the Constitution are now applicable to Jammu and Kashmir. 

After the erosion of its distinct identity, Article 370 has been set on a new path to begin a formal association with the laws of the country through various articles in the Constitution and its identity as a Union Territory. IANS