Supreme Court Adjourns J&K National Panthers Party's Plea For Elections In J&K, Asks Parties To Wait Till Article 370 Pleas Are Taken

The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned a plea filed by the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) seeking for the conduction of elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The bench comprising CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha, and Justice Manoj Misra stated that the matter would be listed after directions are passed in the batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 as it would save on a lot of "procedural formalities".

The petition filed by senior leaders of JKNPP, Manju Singh and Harsh Dev Singh, seeks directions to the Election Commission of India to conduct elections to the legislative assembly of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir without any further delay. After discussing the issue with the bench, CJI DY Chandrachud remarked– 

"We will adjourn this matter. The 370 matter is listed for directions on 11th. So we will adjourn this till then."

The counsel for petitioner, seemingly dissatisfied with the same argued–

"This is a different case. We have been disenfranchised."

To this, CJI DY Chandrachud said–

"These matters are linked, they're similar. Why don't you give a copy to the centre? This will only save on procedural formalities."

A constitution bench is set to take up the batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 on July 11, 2023. The bench taking up the matter comprises CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice SK Kaul, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice BR Gavai, and Justice Surya Kant. The petitions are being listed for the first time after March 2, 2020. Although the cases have been listed for July 11, the Supreme Court is likely to start the hearing of a batch of petitions in August. The listing on July 11 is to complete the pre-hearing formalities. The same was revealed by Justice BR Gavai while hearing activist Teesta Setalvad’s bail plea.