'What Kind Of Petition?' : Supreme Court Dismisses Plea To Declare As Valid Centre's Decision To Scrap J&K's Special Status Under Article 370

The Supreme Court today dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a declaration that the Centre's decision to abrogate the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370(1) and the deletion of Article 35A of the Indian Constitution was valid. At the very outset, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, presiding over the bench, expressed his skepticism about the nature of the petition. The bench also comprised Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra.

During the hearing, the CJI questioned the petitioner's intent, saying, "What kind of a petition is this? Who has set your client up?"

He then added–

"A declaration cannot be issued by this court regarding the constitutional validity of the action taken by the central government. The question of constitutional validity is pending before this court. This plea is misconceived."

Accordingly, the plea was dismissed.

The PIL had sought a formal declaration from the Supreme Court affirming the constitutional validity of the government's decision to abrogate Article 370(1) and remove Article 35A, which granted special autonomy to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

A constitution bench is currently hearing a batch of pleas challenging the abrogation of Article 370(1) which took place on August 5, 2019. The challenge of deletion of Article 35A, which granted special privileges to the residents of Jammu and Kashmir in matters of property and employment, is also being heard. 

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