National Conference knocks Apex Court against the president’s order on Article 370
(Judicial Quest News Service)
The National Conference has knocked the doors of the Supreme Court against the President’s order on Article 370 regarding the removal of special state status of Jammu and Kashmir.
The National Conference has requested the court to issue directions regarding declaring the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act 2019 as ‘unconstitutional’. The petition moved by the NC leaders Mohammad Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi.
In a bold and far reaching decision the center in early August had revoked Article 370 of the constitution to take away the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, it also passed the Jammu and Kashmir re-organization Bill 2019, with a massive majority both Lok Sabha and Rajaya Sabha in a bid to bifurcate the state into two Union Territories (UTs) – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladhak.
The decisions marked the unprecedented chaos in the political corridors of India with BJP- led Govern,ment breaking new grounds on issues that havebeeen virtually untouched in last 70 years,
The petition is drafted by Gautam Bhatia, Rahul Narayan, and Malavika Prasad.
The Petitioner argues as follows:
1.That the impugned Presidential Orders and the legislation being unconstitutional ex facie, the Petitioners have no other alternative, effective, efficacious remedy other than approaching the sole Constitutional Arbiter as this Hon’ble Court and therefore, the Petitioners have not approached any other authority for any relief
2. Because the “consent” to Order C.O. 272 was invalidly given, as powers under President’s Rule are co-terminus with that of the legislative assembly of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. However, under the proviso to Article 147 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir, the legislative assembly of the State of Jammu and Kashmir is barred from “seeking to make any change in the provisions of the constitution of India as applicable in relation to the State”; consequently, since the legislative assembly could not have given its consent to Presidential Order C.O. 272, nor could the Governor.
Apart from former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, Sajjad Lone, leader of the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference, was kept under watch on the night of August 4. The next day, the government moved the Rajya Sabha to abolish the first clause of 370 and to split it into two parts and make it a union territory. Which got the approval of the upper house? The bill has also got approval from the Lok Sabha on August 6.
Earlier on August 8, the Supreme Court refused to immediately hear a petition challenging the President’s order on Article 370. The court had told the petitioner that his petition challenging the President’s order on Article 370 would be heard in due time. This petition was filed in court by advocate Manohar Lal Sharma.