A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court against the Presidential order by which Article 370 was withdrawn from Jammu and Kashmir, seeking direction to declare it “illegal and unconstitutional”. On August 5, President Ram Nath Kovind had signed on the Constitution (application to Jammu and Kashmir) order, 2019. The order, issued under Article 370(1)(d) of the Constitution, paved the way for taking away ‘special status’ granted to Jammu and Kashmir. “The said Article empowers the President to apply all other Articles except Articles 1, 238 and 370 of the Constitution, to Jammu and Kashmir. Therefore, Article 370 cannot be modified by way of a Presidential order under Article 370(1)(d),” the litigant said in its plea. The petition has been filed by a Kashmiri lawyer, Shakir Shabir, who has sought direction for the government to prevent all forms of human rights violation and exercise restraint while dealing with the bonafide citizens of the nation. He has contended that the presidential order which had amended Article 367 is unconstitutional and void as it resulted in the scrapping of Article 370 that could not have been done in the manner in which it was done. Earlier this week, the Parliament had passed the Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Bill, 2019 with 370 votes in its favour and 70 against it. The Parliament also passed the resolution revoking Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. On Friday, President Kovind gave his nod to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019, making it into law. The reorganisation bill provides for the formation of the Union Territory of Ladakh without legislature and a separate one for Jammu and Kashmir with the legislature. Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh will come into existence as separate Union Territories on October 31.
