Srinagar, Apr 10 : Delhi High Court Tuesday dismissed a public interest litigation that challenged validity of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, granting special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
A bench comprising Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath while dismissing the PIL said that the Supreme Court had already rejected a similar plea.
The PIL was filed by Kumari Vijay Lakshmi Jha in 2015 challenging the Article 370, citing that the Article was a temporary provision and as such had lapsed following the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir on January 26, 1957.
The PIL had sought directions of the court to the Centre to declare the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir as “void, inoperative, illegal and ultra vires the Constitution”. It also pleaded for quashing of the 1952 “Delhi Agreement.”
However, the court dismissed the PIL in limine (before the trial could begin).
In 2014, the Supreme Court had refused to entertain a PIL questioning the validity of Article 370.
Confirming the decision of the court, State’s Advocate General Jehangir Iqal Ganie told KNS that the PIL was dismissed in limine.
Meanwhile, State’s Law minister Abdul Haq Khan told KNS that the government will defend special status with all legal methods at any level an in any court, as and when anybody challenges it. (KNS)
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