Indian SC to hold daily hearings on pleas against removal of IIOJK special status

Five-member bench of India's top court to begin hearings from August 2

The Indian Supreme Court decided on Tuesday to commence hearing petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Modi government’s decision to scrap Illegally Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s (IIOJK) special status starting August.

Nearly five years since the revocation of Article 370 of the Indian constitution that had granted special status to the disputed territory, the country's top court is finally set to hear the batch of 23 petitions challenging the August 2019 move.

Notably, the matter was last heard in March 2020 before going into limbo, reported the Indian news outlet The Wire.

According to Indian Express, the five-judge constitutional bench presided by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, which took up the batch of petitions on Tuesday to issue directions for fulfilling procedural formalities before the start of the actual hearing, said the hearing of the petitions “shall commence on 2 August at 10.30 am and shall thereafter continue on a day to day except on miscellaneous days (days when SC hears miscellaneous matters)”.

The bench, also comprising Justices Sanjib Khanna, S K Kaul, B R Gavai and Surya Kant, recorded in its order that Solicitor General Tushar Mehta has assured that the affidavit filed by the Centre on Monday in the matter has “no bearing on the constitutional issues raised in petitions”.

Read Will the Indian top court do justice to Kashmiris?

“The Solicitor General has informed that though the Union of India has filed an additional affidavit, setting out the Union government’s perspective in regard to the post-notification developments, the contents of the affidavit have no bearing on constitutional issues raised in petitions and thus are not to be relied upon for that purpose,” the order said.

Separately, Indian news agency ANI reported that the court had appointed two advocates as “nodal counsels for the preparation of common convenience compilations of documents”.

“Written submissions shall also be filed on or before July 27 and no further additions to the convenience compilation shall be permissible,” it quoted India’s top court as saying.

Supreme Court’s five-judge Constitution bench says hearing of a batch of pleas challenging the abrogation from of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir will start from August 2. pic.twitter.com/eTJ1oFw9SJ

— ANI (@ANI) July 11, 2023

Commenting on the hearing, former chief minister of occupied Kashmir Omar Abdullah said he "hoped the hearing ends soon and Supreme Court's decision comes soon".

#WATCH | "...The hearing on Article 370 is beginning. We hope that the hearing ends soon and Supreme Court's decision comes before us soon," says National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on the hearing in Supreme Court on abrogation of Article 370 to begin from August 2 pic.twitter.com/k6hhsIXOuz

— ANI (@ANI) July 11, 2023

Meanwhile, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief and former chief minister of IIOJK Mehbooba Mufti took to Twitter to express her apprehensions about the top court's decision to take up the pleas after “remaining silent for four years”.

Hon’ble SCs decision to not rely on GOIs affidavit vindicates that it doesnt have a logical explanation to justify illegal abrogation of Article 370. Having said that there are legitimate apprehensions about why SC has taken up the Article 370 with such alacrity after their visit… https://t.co/RIEYgEvcoh

— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) July 11, 2023

"There are legitimate apprehensions about why SC has taken up the Article 370 with such alacrity after their visit to Kashmir. After remaining silent for four years the decision to hear the case on a daily basis does evoke misgivings,” she said.