LONG WAIT FOR JUSTICE

As the Kashmir lockdown and communication blockade gets into third month, people expect the court interventions may actually offer some relief. In cases challenging the Kashmir reorganization, however, the Supreme Court has posted the hearing for November 14. The judicial interventions have already triggered a quick follow-up in case of detention of minors since August 5, reports Tasavur Mushtaq

September 30, when normal life continued to remain disrupted for the 57th consecutive day in Kashmir, Chief Justice of India, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, as head of the three-judge special bench hearing the clutch of petitions related to Jammu and Kashmir on immediate basis, observed there was “no time” to consider the cases. His bench is already embroiled in another constitutional matter involving the Ayodhya title suit case; newspapers quoted the Chief Justice’s observation.

Subsequently, all the Kashmir related cases were transferred to a five-judge Constitution bench comprising Justices NV Ramana, SK Kaul, R Subhash Reddy, BR Gavai and Surya Kant.

“We don’t have time to hear so many matters. We have a Constitution Bench case going on... These petitions will be heard by the Kashmir Bench.”

(The ‘Constitution Bench case’ here refers to the Ayodhya appeals entering the 34th consecutive day of hearing on September 30. Two judges of this Bench Justices Gogoi and S A Bobde were hearing the J&K lockdown petitions.)

The decision was adversely commented by sections of the media and even lawyers. “Ayodhya is a long-running dispute and Kashmir is the current crisis involving liberty and right to life of more than seven million people,” one female lawyer said, requested she not be named. “Supreme Court has 34 judges and Kashmir cases could have been allotted to different benches for speedy hearings.”

DAY ONE

On October 1, the first day of hearing of petitions challenging the Centre’s unilateral move to abrogate Article 370, the constitutional bench (Kashmir Bench), led by Justice Ramana, granted the government four weeks time to file the counter-affidavits. Now it will be taken up on November 14.