Indian Supreme Court issues notices to Modi govt on petitions regarding Article 370
Petitions challenged Modi government's decision to revoke Article 370
August 28, 2019
NEW DELHI: The Indian Supreme Court on Wednesday referred petitions related to the abrogation of the special status for occupied Kashmir to a five-judge constitution bench for hearing in the first week of October.
Notices were also issued to Indian federal government on the petitions challenging Article 370. The Indian Supreme Court also allowed CPI (M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and a student from Delhi’s Jamia Millia University to visit occupied Kashmir.
The petitions challenge the Modi government’s decision to revoke Article 370 and the imposition of curfew in occupied Kashmir.
On August 5, India abolished Article 370 that granted special status to occupied Kashmir. The Modi government sent in an unprecedented number of Indian troops to the disputed valley, imposed a curfew and placed Kashmiri politicians under house arrest.
The move has been condemned internationally and by opposition leaders in India.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced that he will be Kashmir’s ambassador globally and will raise the issue during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting in September. In a nationally televised address, Prime Minister Khan said the decision by the Modi government would prove to be a historic blunder and an opportunity for the Kashmiri people to get their freedom.
