New Delhi: A Constitution bench of the Supreme Court will deliver on December 11 its ruling on a clutch of petitions that have challenged the August 2019 abrogation of Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and the subsequent restructuring of the state into two Union territories.
The five-judge bench comprises Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, Bhushan R Gavai and Surya Kant.
According to people aware of the matter, CJI Chandrachud and Justice Kaul have authored two separate judgments for the bench.
Following a marathon hearing spanning 16 days, the bench had on September 5 reserved its verdict in the matter.
The hearing began on August 2 after over three years, with its last listing dating back to March 2020 when another five-judge bench had declined to refer the matter to a larger bench. The reference was sought on the grounds that two previous judgments of the apex court were conflicting with each other, but the bench did not agree with this contention.
The final leg of the proceedings in the matter witnessed extensive arguments and discussions with the petitioners buttressing on the permanent nature of Article 370 and thus, the special status of J&K, while the Centre and other respondents emphasising that the provision was always meant to be temporary and that its abrogation was the ultimate step towards complete integration of J&K with the Union of India.
The Centre, on being asked by the court, made a statement on August 31 that the election to the legislative assembly for the Union territory of J&K could take place when the state and the central election commissions deems fit even as it declined to specify an “exact time frame” for restoring statehood to J&K.
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