Indian SC to hear pleas against the bifurcation of Article 370

NEW DELHI: Four years after the abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian constitution which revoked the special status of Kashmiris in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), the Indian Supreme (SC) will be hearing pleas that challenge the decision.

The 5 August 2019 move to revoke the special status of IIOJK was challenged in the SC by Indian Chief Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud. A five-member bench of the Indian SC will hear a series of petitions on a daily basis starting July 11.

The five-member bench will decide on the validity of the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019, which replaced the Constitution (Application to J&K) Order, 1954, and the addition of Clause 4 to Article 367 making the constitution.

Before it was defanged, Article 370 gave special status to Kashmiris in IIOJK for 70 years. The petitioners hope that the SC will declare the 2019 move null and restore Kashmiris their special status.

A lead petitioner Shah Faesal, who is an Indian bureaucrat and the first Kashmiri to top the Indian civil services examinations, reportedly attempted to resign in 2018 to float a political party. According to the Time of India, his resignation was rejected, reinstating him into the Indian civil service, and he has since distanced himself from the petition.