This statement was made by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul as he was presiding over the hearing of a petition that challenged the notifications for the delimitation of assembly seats in the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
In their petition before the court, two residents of Srinagar named Haji Abdul Gani Khan and Dr. Mohammad Ayub Mattoo had argued that the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution should be challenged in addition to the delimitation exercise that had been carried out by the Union Government in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
During the hearing that took place today, the bench, which also consisted of Justice MM Sundresh, questioned Senior Advocate Ravi Shankar Jandhyala, who represented the petitioner, as to whether or not the petitioner is contesting the repeal of Article 370 from the Constitution.
“No. The territory of Kashmir officially became a part of India on August 5, 2019 “The reply came from Jandhyala.
“No, you’re using (words) incorrectly; it has never not been a part of India. Only a single exceptional clause was omitted, “Justice Kaul provided a response.
After that, the court made it quite plain that it would not wade into the challenge to Article 370 given that the identical claim is already pending before the highest court.
“Do you intend to challenge the revocation of Article 370? You say no? What exactly are you trying to prove? I don’t want to delve into the pros and cons of cases that are now in the judicial system, “Justice Kaul stated.
In response to the Senior Advocate’s negative response, the Bench issued an order that the contentions and pleadings addressing the challenge to the repeal of Article 370 were to be disregarded.
According to the highest court’s ruling, “the pleas therein regarding Article 370 is to be disregarded,” since the petitioner’s legal representation is not contesting the constitutional provision known as Article 370.
It then moved on to get a response from the Central government on the delimitation element of the issue.
