SC declines to stop bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into 2 UTs

The Constitution bench, which was set up last week by Justice NV Ramana, gave the Centre four weeks to respond to a bunch of petitions that challenged the move to scrap J&K’s special status. It will take up the case again on November 14.

Senior lawyer Raju Ramachandran, who is representing one of the 10 petitioners, had asked the bench led by Justice NV Ramana to hold its hearing before this month-end or stop the government from carving out two UTs.

The judges, however, made it clear that this would not be possible since it had to give the state and Central governments adequate time to respond. “The court can put the clock back… But it cannot hear such a matter without getting a response from the government,” the bench ruled, pointing out that when the hearing on merits begin, the petitioners would want to debate everything.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had told the court that the Centre needed four weeks to file its counter to the 10 new petitions filed against the abrogation of Article 370.According to the Government Order, the state of Jammu and Kashmir would be split into two Union Territories on 31 October: Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.