New Delhi, August 21
Terming it as “misconceived”, the Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a PIL seeking to declare as constitutionally valid the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution that accorded a special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
“What kind of a petition is this? You are now seeking a declaration by this court that the abrogation of Article 370 is valid. Why should we issue that declaration on your petition? Who has set your client up?” a Bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said.
The issue of constitutional validity of abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35-A was already pending before a constitution Bench, the CJI told the petitioner’s counsel. A five-judge Constitution Bench led by CJI Chandrachud has been hearing arguments since August 2 on petitions challenging the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which bifurcated the erstwhile state into two UTs — Jammu and Kashmir; and Ladakh.
The Bench said, “A declaration cannot be issued by this court with regard to the constitutional validity of the action of the Union Government. In any event, the issue of constitutional validity is pending before the Constitution Bench.”
