The Supreme Court will pronounce its verdict on the constitutional validity of Centre’s decision to repeal the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370.
After hearing a batch of pleas against the abrogation of Article 370 for 16 days, the Constitution bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud has reserved the judgment on December 5.
On August 5, 2019, the Centre had revoked a part of Article 370 that gave Jammu and Kashmir a significant autonomy and split the state into two unions territories Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The decision was challenged in the Supreme Court and after an extended review the court began hearing as many as 23 petitions. After a marathon hearing of 16 days, the five-judge constitution bench led by CJI Chandrachud and also comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjeev Khanna, BR Gavai, and Surya Kant, reserved its verdict on Tuesday.
The Supreme Court verdict is highly anticipated as it will have direct bearing on 1.5 crore people of Jammu and Kashmir. It will also determine whether the Centre’s decision was in accordance with the Constitution.
The government has argued that its decision does not violate the federal structure between the central and state governments.
The petitioners argued that the government’s decision to abrogate part of Article 370 and subsequent dissolution of its Legislative Assembly deprived people of Jammu and Kashmir from representation in Lok Sabha and Assembly constituency.