JK Govt to fight petition in Delhi HC challenging Article 370

The PDP-BJP coalition government has decided to fight a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging non-applicability of any constitution amendment in the region under Article 370 of Indian Constitution.
The Law department officials told Kashmir Post that they would examine the case and file writ petition against the PIL filed in Delhi High Court challenging the non-applicability of any constitution amendment in Jammu and Kashmir without a Presidential order under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution.
“We have to thoroughly examine the petition filed in Delhi High Court so that we would be in a better position to counter the claim,” Law Secretary, Abdul Majid told .
He said the government had sought a petition copy from Delhi High Court so that it will fight the case with clarity.
Official sources told Kashmir Post that Law Minister, Abdul Haq Khan, recently held a meeting with the officials of law department and asked them to proceed in the case with vigor and sensitivity.
“The minister was very particular about the specific issues and provisions faced by Article 370 under which J&K enjoys special status. The next meeting will be held after we get the PIL copy from Delhi High Court,” said an official.
The PIL filed in the Delhi High Court recently has challenged the various provisions of Article 370.
The court has decided to hear the petition next month.
The PIL, which challenges the Constitution Order 1954 that adds a proviso to Article 368 of the Constitution, was listed for hearing before a bench comprising Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal.
The bench said it will take up the matter for further hearing on January 2 after the winter vacation.
The Constitution Order 1954 by the President had added a proviso to Article 368 (power of Parliament to amend the Constitution and procedure thereof, saying “no such amendment shall have effect in relation to the Jammu and Kashmir unless applied by order of the President under clause (1) of Article 370“.
Article 370 grants special autonomous status to the State and makes it clear that any law, including Constitution amendments, will not be applicable to the State unless applied by an order of the President under this article.
The PIL has been filed by advocate Surjeet Singh contending that the Constitution Order was an “encroachment” on the powers of the Parliament to amend the Constitution and apply it to Jammu and Kashmir.
“The impugned proviso added by ‘the Constitution Order 1954’ to the Article 368 is an unconstitutional encroachment on the constituent powers of Parliament to amend the Constitution and apply the same to the state of Jammu and Kashmir as well,” the petition says.
It also says that the powers conferred on Parliament under Article 368 “in its very nature are one that cannot be delegated and the exclusive conferment of amending power on Parliament is one of the basic features of Constitution and cannot be violated directly or indirectly“.
The petitioner has sought to quash the Constitution Order 1954 to the extent that it adds the proviso to Article 368.

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