Centre gets four weeks from SC to respond to pleas related to Article 370

The Supreme Court on Monday granted four weeks' time to the Central government to file its reply on a batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of the special status accorded to Jammu and Kashmir and other allied issues pertaining to the region.

A five-judge constitution bench passed the order after Attorney General (AG) K K Venugopal, representing the government, sought more time in this regard. The top court has slated the matter for further hearing for November 14.

The bench headed by Justice N V Ramana and comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, R Subhash Reddy, B R Gavai and Surya Kant was hearing clubbed petitions against the dilution of Article 370 and the restriction by the government, including communication blockade, curbs on media, detention of minors and others.

The government had on August 5 scrapped the provision of the article, which took away the special rights enjoyed by the people of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state into two Union Territories - Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The UTs will come into being on October 31.