Dr. Shah Faesal And Ors. Vs Union of India And Anr. (Supreme Court of India)
Article 370 Challenge Not Referred to Larger Bench as No Conflict in Earlier Decisions: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court considered a preliminary issue in a batch of petitions challenging two Constitution Orders issued by the President under Article 370 of the Constitution concerning the constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir. The order was confined solely to determining whether the matters should be referred to a larger Bench because of an alleged conflict between two earlier Constitution Bench decisions, namely Prem Nath Kaul v. State of Jammu and Kashmir and Sampat Prakash v. State of Jammu and Kashmir. The Court expressly clarified that it was not examining the merits of the constitutional challenge to the impugned Constitution Orders.
The Court noted that President’s Rule had been imposed in Jammu and Kashmir on 20 December 2018 and that on 5 and 6 August 2019 the President issued Constitution Orders (C.O. Nos. 272 and 273) under Article 370. These Orders made the Constitution of India applicable to the State of Jammu and Kashmir in its entirety and declared that Article 370 would thereafter operate in the modified form specified in the notification.
