Supreme Court sets up fresh Constitution bench to hear pleas against Article 370 abrogation from July 11

The Supreme Court on Monday set up a fresh five-judge bench to hear from July 11 a batch of petitions, questioning validity of the decision of August 5, 2019 to scrap the special status to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution.

According to a notification, the Constitution bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai and Surya Kant would take up the matter on July 11 for passing directions.

Of the five judges in the bench, Justices Khanna, Gavai and Kant are in line to become the Chief Justice of India in accordance with the rule of seniority. Justice Kaul, who is at number two in seniority, would demit office on December 25, 2023 on superannuation.

The Centre, by modifying the provisions of Article 370, had revoked the special status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, and subsequently, the state was bifurcated into two union territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir.

A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court, in March 2020, held that there was no need to refer the batch of petitions challenging the decision related to Article 370 to a seven-judge constitution bench.