Article 370: SC verdict on constitutional validity of Kashmir lockdown today

New Delhi, Jan 09: The Supreme Court will pronounce its judgment on Friday, 10 January, at 10.30 am on the batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the restrictions and communication lockdown imposed in Kashmir since August 2019.

A number of petitions have been filed in the matter including that of private individuals, lawyers, activists and political parties and they have also challenged the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019, which splits J&K into two union territories -- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

On November 27, a three judges bench comprising Justices N V Ramana, R Subhash Reddy and B R Gavai had reserved judgment on a bunch of petitions challenging the constitutionality of Kashmir lockdown, which was imposed in the wake of abrogation of the special status of J&K on August 5 last year.

The apex court had heard the petitions filed by Anuradha Bhasin, Executive Editor of Kashmir Times, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Ghulam Nabi Azad and few intervenors.

The PIL filed on 10 August had sought immediate directions for the removal of restrictions imposed on media, communication and the free movement of people.

The Centre on November 21 justified the restrictions saying that due to the preventive steps taken neither a single life was lost nor a single bullet fired.

The restrictions have virtually paralyzed the lives of 7 million people; their daily lives have been impacted. Education, medical care, business, agriculture, tourism etc, have taken a bad hit due to the lockdown of the state, submitted the petitioners.