India supreme court gives MODI govt. four weeks to reply on Article 370

The Supreme Court bench, headed by Justice NV Ramana, allowed the government and the occupied Jammu and Kashmir administration to file counter-affidavits on petitions challenging the scrapping of Article 370.

New Delhi: The lock down in Kashmir will have been in place for two months. A five-judge bench of India’s Supreme Court on Tuesday granted the government four weeks to file its response of petitions challenging the abrogation of occupied Kashmir’s status under Article 370 of Constitution, According Indian media.

The Supreme Court bench, headed by Justice NV Ramana, allowed the government and the occupied Jammu and Kashmir administration to file counter-affidavits on petitions challenging the scrapping of Article 370.

The Indian Top Court also placed an embargo on filing of any fresh writ petition challenging constitutional validity on abrogation of Article 370.

The bench will take up the matter on November 14. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government stripped occupied Kashmir of its autonomy on August 5 while placing the valley under a lockdown and arresting Kashmiri leaders in a bid to prevent protests against the move. On October 5.

The pleas have challenged the communication blockade in occupied Kashmir, the illegal detention of children, and the impact of restrictions on healthcare.