New Delhi, 14th December 2022: Today (December 14), the Supreme Court announced that it would take into account a request for an early filing of arguments challenging the Centre’s decision to remove Article 370 and revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special status in August 2019.

When intervenor professor and author Radha Kumar requested an early listing of the petitions on the matter, a bench made up of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha responded, “We shall examine and offer a date.”

A Bench led by the former Chief Justice of India, N V Ramana, had earlier consented to schedule the matter on April 25 and September 23 of this year.

Given that former Chief Justice of India Ramana and Justice R Subhash Reddy has now retired, the Supreme Court would need to reassemble a 5-judge Bench. On March 2, 2020, the bench that included them as well as Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, B R Gavai, and Surya Kant rejected to refer the case to a larger 7-judge Bench to review the petitions contesting the constitutional validity of the repeal of Article 370.