CJI-led constitution bench to take up pleas challenging Article 370 abrogation on July 11

A 5-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud will hear the pleas challenging abrogation of the Article 370 on July 11.

As per the notice issued by the apex court on its website, a new Constitution bench comprising CJI Chandrachud and Justices S.K. Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, B.R. Gavai, and Surya Kant will continue to hear the matter.

On July 11, the top court will pass directions to complete procedural formalities and fix modalities of the hearing.

It will also decide as to whether the petition filed by IAS officer Shah Faesal can be allowed for withdrawal.

In February, upon the case being mentioned, CJI Chandrachud said that he will "take a call" on listing of the pleas.

The batch of petitions challenging the 2019 Presidential Order taking away the special status accorded to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and its bifurcation into two Union Territories has been pending in the top court for nearly four years.

In March 2020, when the matter was last listed before the Supreme Court, a five-judge Constitution Bench declined to accept the contentions of the petitioners to refer the issue to a larger bench of seven judges.

The five-judge Constitution Bench headed by then CJI N.V. Ramana reasoned that the earlier judgments rendered by the top court in the Prem Nath Kaul case and the Sampat Prakash case, dealing with the interpretation of Article 370, were not in conflict with each other.

CJI Chandrachud and Justice Khanna are the new members of the latest bench as Chief Justice Ramana and Justice Subhash Reddy, who were part of the earlier bench, had retired.