IPA Newspack
  • Home
  • now
  • politics
  • business
  • markets

IPA /

IPA Special

IPA Special

Petition Challenging Abrogation Of Article 370 Must Get Priority By Supreme Court

By Prakash Karat

The chief justice of India, N V Ramana, has stated in court that he would consider resuming the hearing of the petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 and the creation of two union territories by dismantling the state of Jammu & Kashmir in July, after the summer vacations.

He said this in response to a request from senior lawyers for an early hearing of the case. He further said that since one of the judges in the five-member bench hearing the case had retired, it would be necessary to recast the bench.  If the hearing is to resume in July, it would also mean that the chief justice who is heading the five-member bench may also have to be substituted with another judge, as he is set to retire on August 26.  So, what this means is that the interminable delay in the case continues.

It was on August 5, 2019 that the presidential orders on Jammu & Kashmir were issued.  Since then two years and nine months have elapsed.  The delay in hearing such an important constitutional case by the apex court is in no way justifiable.  In this period, the central government has moved to bring about changes on the ground by implementing various measures and enacting new laws. The delimitation of constituencies for a truncated assembly under the union territory has been more or less completed.

The J&K petitions have much wider constitutional ramifications.  Can the centre unilaterally change the character of a state within the Indian union using the ploy of president’s rule in the state?  The very basis of the federal principle underlining centre-state relations is at stake.  By not making any judicial pronouncement on such a vital issue, the Supreme Court has allowed the central government to advance its narrow, partisan interests.

There are other important constitutional cases pending before the court.  The petitions challenging electoral bonds have been pending before the court for over four years.  Enacted as law in 2018, in the Lok Sabha and successive assembly elections, thousands of crores of rupees have been funneled to the ruling party through the opaque system of anonymous donations.  This has affected the election process and provided an inbuilt advantage to the ruling party vitiating free and fair polls.  Yet the constitutional court has found no time to hear the matter fully and arrive at a verdict.

Constitutional challenges to the Citizenship Amendment Act have also found no response from the court even though more than two years have gone-by.  There are other vital matters affecting the fundamental rights of citizens such as the amendments to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, which remain unattended to even though obnoxious clauses like Section 43(D)(5) remain, which allow the detention of people for indefinite periods of time.

At a time when the Supreme Court’s intervention in defence of the constitution and fundamental rights of citizens is most essential, this record of “judicial evasion” is most disheartening.  This is all the more so, since it had been expected from the current chief justice of India who had, at the outset of his tenure, stressed the importance of the independence of the judiciary and upholding constitutional values, that he would take steps to expedite the decision-making on the important constitutional cases before the Court.  (IPA Service)

IPA Special

In The Wake Of War In Ukraine, Wheat Is Now A Strategic Commodity

May 18, 2022
IPA Special

The Economist Of London Goes Gaga With Indian Growth Story

May 18, 2022
IPA Special

Turkey’s Erdogan Plays Games Within And With NATO

May 18, 2022
IPA Special

Arrest Of A Big Bangladeshi Financial Scamstar In Bengal Creates A Row

May 18, 2022
IPA Special

Chandrutt Mishra, World’s Foremost Leopard Expert Is A Change Maker

May 18, 2022
IPA Special

Can Hindu Marriage Act Allow Same Sex Marriage In India?

May 18, 2022
Politics

Hardik Patel finally quits Cong, may be headed for BJP

May 18, 2022
Happening Now

Protesting Punjab farmers serve ultimatum to Mann govt

May 18, 2022
Politics

CBI arrests close associate of Chidambaram’s son

May 18, 2022
Happening Now

China jet crash sabotage, suggests Black Box data

May 18, 2022
Business

Export curbs relaxed for outbound wheat consignments

May 18, 2022
IPA Special

Rahul Gandhi Has Damaged The Cause Of Opposition Unity With Udaipur Statement

May 17, 2022
IPA Special

Centre On Backfoot After Unsuccessful Privatisation

May 17, 2022
IPA Special

Central BJP Leaders Are Depending On Yogi Adityanath For Next Lok Sabha Win

May 17, 2022
IPA Special

Regional Parties Are Jittery At Rahul Gandhi’s Dig To Them On Ideology

May 17, 2022
IPA Special

‘Gyanvapi’ Aurangzeb Alamgir Refuses To Rest In Peace

May 17, 2022
IPA Special

Centre Cherry-Picking Names Recommended For High Court Judges

May 17, 2022
Politics

RJD terms Rahul’s comments on regional parties ‘bizarre’

May 17, 2022
Happening Now

CBI searches Chidambaram’s premises linked to son

May 17, 2022
Happening Now

Mehbooba says ‘The Kashmir Files’ behind violence

May 17, 2022

An appeal

The legacy of IPA, founded by Nikhil Chakravartty, the doyen of journalism in India, to keep the flag of independent media flying high, is facing the threat of extinction due to the effect of the Covid pandemic. Only an emergency funding can avert such an eventuality. We appeal to all those who believe in the freedom of expression to contribute to this noble cause.
Click here to learn more

Share

Reply

  • 0
More on IPA

In The Wake Of War In Ukraine, Wheat Is Now A Strategic Commodity

May 18, 2022 3:19 pm | IPA Staff

By Arun Kumar Shrivastav In what appeared to be a sudden move, the Indian government prohibited the export of wheat on May 13. This appeared...

IPA Special

The Economist Of London Goes Gaga With Indian Growth Story

May 18, 2022 3:16 pm | IPA Staff

By Anjan Roy The Economist newspaper of London, highly respected worldwide for its expertise and views on the global economy and issues, has predicted India...

IPA Special

Turkey’s Erdogan Plays Games Within And With NATO

May 18, 2022 3:13 pm | IPA Staff

James M Dorsey Amid speculation about a reduced US military commitment to security in the Middle East, Turkey has spotlighted the region’s ability to act...

IPA Special

Arrest Of A Big Bangladeshi Financial Scamstar In Bengal Creates A Row

May 18, 2022 3:11 pm | IPA Staff

By Ashis Biswas Nothing has engaged the capabilities of police forces in India (West Bengal) and Bangladesh in recent times more the arrest of international...

IPA Special

In The Wake Of War In Ukraine, Wheat Is Now A Strategic Commodity

in IPA Special
May 18, 2022   ·  

The Economist Of London Goes Gaga With Indian Growth Story

in IPA Special
May 18, 2022   ·  

Turkey’s Erdogan Plays Games Within And With NATO

in IPA Special
May 18, 2022   ·  

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Follow us on
Up Next: Time Of Final Reckoning Has Come For Sedition Law
©2020 -2021 India Press Agency, All Rights Reserved
Newspack by India Press Agency
Posting....
logo
  • Home
  • now
  • politics
  • business
  • markets