NEW DELHI, Oct 19: The Delhi High Court today asked the Centre to file the prayers of petitions pending in Supreme Court challenging the Constitutional validity of Article 370 that gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
The court’s direction came on a similar PIL filed before it challenging the Constitutional validity of Article 370 after the Centre submitted that two writ petitions on similar issues are pending before the Supreme Court.
“Additional Solicitor General (ASG) submits that two similar writ petitions are pending before Supreme Court. He is directed to file the prayers made in the said writ petitions,” a bench Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath said.
During the brief hearing on a petition, the bench asked the counsel for the petitioner whether Jammu and Kashmir High Court has passed any order in this regard.
The counsel for the petitioner — 22-year-old girl Kumari Vijayalakshmi Jha — replied in affirmative but argued that Jammu and Kashmir High Court has no jurisdiction to decide the issue.
“If you are aggrieved by Jammu and Kashmir High Court order, then you should have challenged the order,” the bench said.
The bench after recording the submission of ASG Sanjay Jain that the Supreme Court is also seized of the matter, dismissed the plea.
Counsels for petitioner then protested the dismissal of their plea and submitted that in those petitions before apex court, the prayers and relief sought are different.
The counsels further said that the Supreme Court had dismissed the plea challenging special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution and had asked them to move the High Court.
The bench then asked the ASG to file the prayers made in those two petitions before apex court and posted the matter for November 18.
Earlier, on September 28, the court had agreed to hear the PIL which contended that Article 370 was a temporary provision that had lapsed with the dissolution of the State’s Constituent Assembly in 1957.
The petitioner, in her plea had said that a question before the court for its consideration was whether temporary provision lapsed automatically with the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir on January 26, 1957.
“From perusal of Article 370 (some clause), it becomes clear that the said provision of Article 370 was valid till Constituent Assembly, constituted for framing of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir existed/continued,” the plea had said.
It had further said that “continuance of temporary provision of Article 370, even after dissolution of Constituent Assembly of J&K, continuance of J&K Constitution which has never got the assent/approval of President of India/Parliament/ Govern-ment of India, regarding the matter like citizenship, which is in exclusive jurisdiction of Parliament, amounts fraud on the basic structure of our Constitution, … (as it is) against the sovereignty, integrity, unity of the nation, sovereignty of Parliament etc.”. (PTI)
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