Removing Article 370 Beyond Centre’s Ambit

The Supreme Court on Tuesday began hearing multiple petitions which questioned the Centre’s decision to remove Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and subsequent division into two Union territories. The petitioners contend the changes are beyond the Centre’s powers and want the court to strike down the new provisions. A bench comprising Justices NV Ramana, Sanjay Kishan Kaul, R Subhash Reddy, BR Gavai and Surya Kant will also consider a demand that the case is heard by a seven-judge bench, as demanded by advocate Dinesh Dwivedi, who appeared for Prem Shankar Jha and advocate Sanjay Parikh, who appeared for PUCL. Attorney General KK Venugopal opposed the plea, while senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan said that he would not press for such a reference.