Supreme Court adjourns hearing on plea challenging constitutional validity of Article 370 till April 2019

In the view of prevailing situations in Jammu and Kashmir, the Supreme Court on Friday decided to adjourn its hearing on a plea challenging the validity of Article 370 of the Constitution till April 2019. The development came following a request by the J-K government and the Centre to adjourn the matter due to the ongoing nine-phase Panchayat polls in the state. Earlier, all major regional parties boycotted the local body polls and threatened to snub Lok Sabha elections 2019 over the matter.

Therefore, the Supreme Court bench comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud and M R Shah posted the matter for further hearing in first week of April, 2019.

"Supreme Court has adjourned till April 2019 the hearing on a plea challenging the validity of Article 370 of the Constitution, which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir, after Centre asks for the adjournment saying the current situation is very sensitive in the state," the news agency ANI reported.

Read | Farooq Abdullah threatens to boycott Lok Sabha, assembly elections over Article 35-A

Supreme Court has adjourned till April 2019 the hearing on a plea challenging the validity of Article 370 of the Constitution, which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir, after Centre asks for the adjournment saying the current situation is very sensitive in the state. pic.twitter.com/7G4mhQeQNg

— ANI (@ANI) November 16, 2018

The apex court is dealing with a batch of petitions challenging the Delhi High Court’s April 11, 2017 order which dismissed the plea seeking a declaration that Article 370 is temporary in nature.

Petitioner Kumari Vijayalakshmi Jha had claimed before the court that Article 370 was a temporary provision that had lapsed with the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly in 1957.

Read | Violent protests in Kashmir after rumours of SC scrapping Article 35-A

Article 35 A and 370, which have been facing legal challenges in the Supreme Court, gives special status to the people in Jammu and Kashmir, preventing non-locals from buying and owning any immovable property in the state. It was incorporated in the Constitution by a Presidential Order in 1954.