SC to start hearing Art 370 cases in Aug

livemint.com:

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will begin day-to-day hearings from 2 August on a clutch of petitions pertaining to the nullification of Article 370, and recorded a statement by the Union government that it will not rely upon the contents of an affidavit filed a day ago to bring on record the scenario in Jammu and Kashmir since the move. Observing that the challenge to the abrogation of Article 370—which conferred special status on J&K until August 2019— is a “pure question of constitutional validity", a five-judge bench, comprising Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y.

Chandrachud and justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai and Surya Kant, set down the matter for an extensive hearing in the first week of August. It asked all parties to submit the documents they want to rely upon by 27 July.

“The learned Solicitor General has submitted that though the Centre has filed an additional affidavit setting out the central government’s views on post-notification developments, it would have no bearing on the constitutional question involved in the matter and hence, and it would not be relied upon," said the bench in its order. Defending the nullification of Article 370, the Centre on Monday filed an affidavit saying the 5-6 August 2019 decision has led to “unprecedented development, progress, security and stability" in J&K, adding that “life has returned to normalcy in the region after three decades of turmoil".

It said the move has resulted in the dismantling of the terror network, and that incidents of stone-pelting and street violence have “now become a thing of the past" in J&K where all the provision of the Constitution and central laws apply uniformly. However, on Tuesday, the bench pointed out