SC castigates lawyer for baffling petition against Article 370's revocation, says it has no clarity

Coming down heavily on lawyer ML Sharma's petition against Centre's decision to abrogate Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, the Supreme Court on Friday warned that his plea was incomprehensible and had no annexures. "What is your petition? You have filed a rubbish petition on such an important matter. There is no clarity on it. I read your petition for more than half-an-hour but still could not fathom out what it was all about," said Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi.

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The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had removed Article 370 and Article 35A from Jammu and Kashmir which ended its special status. Sharma had moved the apex court claiming the notification abrogating the Articles were unconstitutional and the Centre's decision was arbitrary.

Kashmir Times executive editor Anuradha Bhasin, too, had filed a petition in the court in which she had asked for the restrictions imposed on journalists in Jammu and Kashmir following the removal of Article 370 to be lifted.

On August 5, 2019, President ram Nath Kovind had signed the order scrapping Article 370 and Article 35A from Jammu and Kashmir. In another move, the Centre also divided Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories. One Union Territory is Ladakh which will have no assembly while the other is Jammu and Kashmir with an assembly.

A few days before the decision, the Centre had beefed up the security measures in the region as there is a threat that Pakistan-backed terror groups may try to inflame passions and foment trouble. Curfew was imposed in the former state while internet services shut down and telephone lines blocked.

Several Kashmiri political leaders were detained and put under house arrest and preventive custody.