SC refuses to entertain fresh plea against Article 370
November 26, 2018 16:50
The Supreme Court on Monday
refused to entertain a fresh petition on Article 370, which gives
special autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir, and said that the issues
raised in it were already part of the pending pleas.
A bench
comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Ajay Rastogi asked the
petitioner to file an application for impleadment in the pending
matters.
During the brief hearing, the bench asked the petitioner
as to why he wanted to increase the number of petitions on the
issue.
"We have heard the petitioner. The issues raised in the
petition are part of the petitions pending," said the bench.
The
petition filed by advocate Vijay Mishra and Sandeep Lamba has sought a
declaration that Article 370 of the Constitution had lapsed with the
dissolution of constituent assembly of Jammu and Kashmir on January 26,
1957 and it cannot be treated as mandatory for exercise of powers of the
President.
The plea has also sought that the Constitution of
Jammu and Kashmir be declared as 'arbitrary, unconstitutional and void',
claiming that it was against the supremacy of the Indian Constitution
and contrary to the dictum of 'One Nation, One Constitution, One
National Anthem and One National Flag'.
It has sought declaring
as arbitrary some provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution,
which deals with permanent residency and flag of the valley among other
issues, for being violative of the Preamble and the Indian
Constitution.
The petition has said that continuance of two
parallel constitutions, one for the Centre and other for the state of
Jammu and Kashmir, 'reeks of a weird dichotomy' as most of the
provisions of the Indian Constitution has already been extended to the
state.
It has alleged that due to vote bank politics, successive
governments did nothing to repeal Article 370 and Constitution of Jammu
and Kashmir was adopted much after the Indian Constitution came into
force.
It also added that the instrument of accession of October
26, 1947 does not talk about separate Constitution or constituent
assembly for the state. -- PTI