Supreme Court to hear pleas on Article 370 on December 10

Centre says it has led to separatism.

A view of the Supreme Court of India.

A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court led by Justice N.V. Ramana on Thursday scheduled for December 10 its hearing of petitions challenging the dilution of Article 370, which was the source of special rights and privileges accorded to the Kashmiris under Article 35A, and the subsequent bifurcation of the State into two Union Territories.

No interim order

The Bench, including Justices S.K. Kaul, R. Subhash Reddy, B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant, did not pass any interim orders.

The hearing came shortly after the Centre filed an affidavit claiming that the presence of Article 370 in the Constitution for over seven decades had created a “separatist mindset” in the Kashmiri people.

Full integration

The Union government had said Article 370 was “replaced” on August 5 to “fully integrate” the “erstwhile” State of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country.

In the short hearing on Thursday, the Bench asked the parties to prepare a common compilation of all the documents so that hearing of the matter becomes easier.