New Delhi | The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Centre to respond pleas challenging the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
A batch of petitions challenging scrapping of Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir will be heard by a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court in early October, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi said on Wednesday.
Chief Justice Gogoi also issued a notice to the government to respond to the petitions on scrapping of Article 370 as well as restrictions on the media in Jammu and Kashmir.
The bench, also comprising Justices S.A. Bobde and S.A. Nazeer, asked the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir administration to file their responses on a journalist’s plea within seven days.
In the plea, Ms. Bhasin has sought directions for the restoration of all modes of communication, including mobile Internet and landline services, throughout the state in order to provide an enabling environment for media to practise its profession.
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Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta had argued that the top court’s notice would have “cross-border repercussions” and was liable to be misused.
But the top court declined the request. “We have passed an order… We will not change it,” Chief Justice Gogoi said.
The petitions regarding Article 370 challenge its abrogation, most of which claim that the move carried out by the Centre has been “illegal” or “unconstitutional”.
The move to end the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was followed by another move that bifurcated the state into two Union Territories: J&K and Ladakh. The two union territories would become separate states on October 31.
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