Indian SC to hear plea against Article 370 on Tuesday

New Delhi, March 31, 2018 (PPI-OT): The Indian Supreme Court will hear a petition on Tuesday against Article 370 of Indian Constitution which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The petitioner, Kumari Vijayalakshmi Jha, has challenged the April 11 order of the Delhi High Court rejecting her plea, saying that nothing survives in it as the apex court has already dismissed a similar prayer on the issue.

“As per the judgment of the Supreme Court, though as per marginal note Article 370 is a temporary provision, it will, however, continue to remain in force until the specified event in clause of the 370 Article takes place. It also noted that the Article remains in current usage. In view of the authoritative pronouncement (by the SC) it is clear that the submission of the petitioner has no merits,” the Delhi High Court had said.

In Sampat Prakash vs the Jammu and Kashmir (1969), it was held that the Article will cease to operate under sub-clause (3) only when a recommendation is made by the Constituent Assembly of the territory to that effect. It was found that in fact the Constituent Assembly of the territory had made a recommendation that the Article should be operative with one modification to be incorporated in the explanation to clause (1) of the Article, namely, that the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir be substituted by the expression “Sadar-I-Riyasat of Jammu and Kashmir”.

It is important to note, the apex court had said that Article 370 (2) does not in any manner state that it shall cease on the completion of the work of the Constituent Assembly or its dissolution. Kumari Vijayalakshmi Jha claimed that the Delhi High Court had dismissed her plea by wrongly following and misreading the earlier judgment of the apex court.

For more information, contact:
Kashmir Media Service
Phone: +92-51-4435548, +92-51-4435549
Fax: +92-51-4861736
Email: info@kmsnews.org
Website: www.kmsnews.org