J&K parties to file review petition against Supreme Court verdict on Article 370

The ANC, which was one of the petitioners who had challenged the abrogation of Article 370, said the Supreme Court judgment on Dec 11 was “full of flaws” as per the legal and constitutional experts.

“The laws and constitution of India have permitted me that if I don’t agree with a judgment there are other doors open. Whether it will be a review petition or an appeal or some other route, we will discuss that,” ANC's senior vice-president Muzaffar Shah told a press conference here.

Shah said they will prepare a petition and it may take one week or more and legal teams of all the 23 petitioners who had challenged Article 370 in the apex court would be consulted and they will jointly decide the next step.

On Dec 11, a constitution bench of the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the power of the President to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

Shah said after the SC verdict, Article 370 has not died.

“The legal battle has just started. Article 370 has not died. You have given a judgment and we understand that it is constitutionally flawed. We hope that Article 370 will be restored,” he said.

The ANC senior vice president said the issue would also be discussed at the next meeting of the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD). The alliance headed by Farooq Abdullah was formed in 2019 to fight for the restoration of J&K’s special status.

Shah said the people of Jammu and Kashmir have neither accepted the decision of Aug 5, 2019- when the Narendra Modi government abrogated the provisions of Article 370- nor the Dec 11, 2023 verdict of the apex court.

“People of Jammu and Kashmir will give a befitting reply to you when polls are held here and tell you that these decisions are not accepted," he said.

He said they will file a review petition in the top court before Jan 11 next year.