In a move that would change the face of the Kashmir Valley, the Central government in 2019 passed Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act and other laws which divided the erstwhile State into two union territories and effectively abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, which gave special status to Jammu & Kashmir.
More than 10 petitions came to filed before the Supreme Court challenging the Presidential Order scrapping Article 370. The petitioners include Jammu & Kashmir based lawyer Shakir Shabir, Lok Sabha MPs Mohammad Akbar Lone and Justice (Retd) Hasnain Masoodi, Advocate ML Sharma, Shah Faesal and Shehla Rashid.
In March last year, the Court held that there was no need to refer the petitions to a larger Bench. The matter has not been taken up since then.
In November 2020, the Jammu & Kashmir People’s Conference (JKPC) had filed an application in the Supreme Court of India seeking early hearing in the batch of petitions. However, the same is yet to be heard.
Most recently, three political leaders from Ladakh – Qamar Ali Akhoon, Asgar Ali Karbalai and Sajjad Hussain – had moved the Supreme Court seeking impleadment in the petitions.
Last heard on: March 2, 2020
Bench: Justices NV Ramana, Sanjay Kishan Kaul, R Subhash Reddy, BR Gavai, and Surya Kant
Source: Barandbench
