New Delhi: A five-judge Constitution Bench will hear a batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 that accorded a special status to Jammu and Kashmir and its bifurcation in two Union territories.
Issuing notices and see-king the Centre’s response to 14 petitions that challenged the abrogation of Article 370, a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices S.A. Bobde and S. Abdul Nazeer said the matter will be heard by the Constitution Bench in the first week of October 2019.
The court brushed aside a plea by solicitor-general Tushar Mehta that the court may not issue notices as it has “cross-border repercussions”.
At this, senior counsel Raju Ramachandran asked: “Does this mean that the Supreme Court of India will not do its duty?”
“We know our duties”, CJI Gogoi said, adding: “We have passed an ord-er, we will not change it.”
The court also sought a response from the Centre on a plea by Kashmir Times executive editor Anuradha Bhasin on the communication blackout.
