J&K parties demand Tushar Mehta be kept off Article 35-A hearing

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said the All-Party Meeting that was held in Srinagar demanded that Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Tushar Mehta be kept away from the Article 35-A proceedings in the Supreme Court.

Omar Abdullah said the parties at the meeting made the demand because Mehta "has been going beyond his brief". At the last hearing of the case in the apex court, the ASG had said that "it cannot be denied that there is an aspect of gender discrimination in Article 35-A".

"Even the state government has accepted this. So we don't trust him. We have all decided that Mehta should be taken off the case when this comes up for hearing in January," Omar Abdullha said.

The former Chief Minister said Mehta was sent to defend the state and Article 35-A and he was representing the government. However, "we don't trust him anymore. We demand that the lawyers who were defending it earlier must be brought back".

The meeting took place at the residence of Member Parliament and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah on Gupkar Road in Srinagar. The parties also demanded that the case should not be taken up for hearing till Jammu and Kashmir has an elected government.

--IANS

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