Activist Urges Chief Justice Of India To Elevate A Jammu & Kashmir HC Judge To SC To Hear Article 370 Related Pleas

A Pune-based activist has written to the Chief Justice of India that the Supreme Court must elevate a sitting Jammu & Kashmir High Court judge and include him on the bench which hears petitions which challenge the bypassing of Article 370 and Article 35A.

Copies of the letter have also been sent to the collegium which appoints judges, the President and the Prime Minister.

The Pune-based activist Asim Sarode has stated in his letter that the participation of a legal luminary from Jammu & Kashmir would add bring fresh and important perspectives on how Article 370 and 35A would impact the lives of people.

In his letter, Sarode has requested that the judge from Jammu and Kashmir, who is a local or native of that state-turned-union territory, should be should be involved in the hearing of all matters related to Article 370 and 35A, since such a person would know the pulse of the natives of that area.

According to his letter, a judge who hails from the Jammu & Kashmir region and has spent his entire life there would understand the ground realities, actual social, cultural, economic and political impact and significance of such decisions much better, and would be able to view issues from a wider spectrum that others may overlook.

The letter has stated that for all these years, there was no representation of judges from Jammu & Kashmir in the Supreme Court, but now since the strength of judges has been increased from 31 to 33, there are vacancies in the Supreme Court.

Hence, the Chief Justice of India could elevate the senior-most judge from the Jammu & Kashmir High Court to the Supreme Court, the letter has stated.