New Delhi: A Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court led by CJI DY Chandrachud is hearing the long-pending petitions against Centre’s order of the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India. The hearing has been going on since August 2 and today was the sixth day of the hearing during which Senior Advocate Rajeev Dhavan argued that the Article 370 is a temporary provision.
The Chief Justice of India has also given some specific instructions to the petitioners in this case. Apart from the CJI, the constitutional bench hearing this case includes Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai and Surya Kant.
Today, during the hearing, senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan has argued that the President of India does not exercise ‘carte blanche’ (complete) powers during the President Rule under Article 356. It was also pointed out by senior advocate Dushyant Dave that the Article 370 is a temporary provision not because of the time but because it has served its objective and thus cannot be amended. The hearing in this case is supposed to continue tomorrow, August 17, 2023.
The Supreme Court, during the hearing on August 10 had said that Jammu Kashmir surrendering its sovereignty to India was ‘absolutely complete’ and it was ‘difficult’ to say if the Article 370 was permanent in nature or not.
During the hearing today, CJI DY Chandrachud has instructed the counsels of the petitioners to sit and divide their time in such a way that the arguments of all the petitioners can be completed latest by Tuesday, August 22, 2023. The chief justice hopes to begin with the arguments of the respondents from next week.
Amidst the ongoing hearing on petitions against the Abrogation of Article 370, former Chief Minister of the State and chief of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Mehbooba Mufti has said, “It is the idea of India that is on trial today. It is the Constitution of the country, the judicial system, the democratic system is on trial today.”
She further said, “The arguments that are going on in the Supreme Court have exposed the ruling party BJP that has misused their majority in the Parliament to subvert the Indian Constitution. They have taken away the special status of the people of J&K. It is not just a legal issue for me, it is an emotional issue for the people of J&K.”
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