SC refuses to hear fresh petition challenging Article 370

New Delhi: Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a fresh petition challenging Article 370 of the Constitution that gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
The Court refused to hear the petition and said the petitioner may file impleadment application (IA) in the case, reported news agency ANI.
On November 14, the apex court said it will hear in April a plea challenging the validity of Article 370 of the Constitution following a request by the state and the centre.
A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah said it will hear the matter in the first week of April 2019 after Attorney General KK Venugopal, appearing for the centre, sought adjournment on the ground that the current situation is very sensitive.
“The political situation in the state is such that the matter should not be heard at this time,” he said.
Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi and advocate Shoeb Alam, appearing for Jammu and Kashmir said that a letter has been circulated seeking adjournment due to the ongoing nine-phase Panchayat polls in the state.
To this, the bench said that it can tag the matter along with a batch of pending petitions challenging Article 35A of the Constitution, under which special rights and privileges are granted to the “permanent residents” of the state.