What kind of petition is this?SC expresses anguish over filing of defective petitions on Article 370
New Delhi, Aug 16: The Supreme Court on Friday expressed anguish over "defective" petitions on the issue of scrapping of provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said the petition by advocate M L Sharma has "no meaning".
The CJI said he spent 30 minutes reading the petition but could not make out anything and also could not understand what was the prayer.
"What kind of petition is this? It could have been dismissed but there are 5 other pleas with the registry which are under defect," the bench also comprising Justices S A Bobde and S A Najeer said.
"You are not praying for setting aside the Presidential order. What is the prayer it is not clear. It can be dismissed on technical grounds.
"In a matter of this nature if this is the petition, there is no meaning," the bench said.
The court was hearing the petition by Sharma, who had filed it on August 6, a day after the Centre had abrogated Jammu and Kashmir's special status.
The apex court asked lawyers to cure defects in their six petitions on Article 370 and adjourned the hearing.
The bench also noted that it was hearing the petition on Article 370 by breaking the combination of judges which was hearing the sensitive Ayodhya matter.
During the hearing, advocate Shakil Sabeer said he was the resident of J-K and had filed the petition against the scrapping of Article 370 which has led to the creation of union territories of J-K and Ladakh.
He said he had cured the defects but the petition was not listed.
The bench enquired from its apex court registry and found that the defects were cured on Wednesday evening.
The bench said the defects were cured on Wednesday evening and Thursday was a holiday. Then how did he expected the listing of his petition today?
"Why did you file a defective petition in the matter of this importance," an anguished bench asked the lawyer.
"You file a defective petition and trouble my officers," the CJI said.
The bench asked the lawyer if he knows how many petitions on J-K issue are in the apex court and are under defects?
The bench told him that six petitions have been filed on the issue.
"In the matter of this seriousness people are filing defective petitions," the bench said.
The National Conference, the main political party of Jammu and Kashmir, has also filed a petition posing legal challenges in the apex court to the changes made in the constitutional status of J-K, contending that these have taken away rights of its citizens without their mandate.
Arguing that the legislation approved by Parliament and orders issued by the President subsequently were "unconstitutional", the petition prayed for these to be declared as "void and inoperative".
The petition has been filed by Mohammad AKbar Lone and Justice (rtd) Hasnain Masoodi, both Lok Sabha members belonging to the NC.
Lone is a former speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly and Masoodi a retired judge of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, who ruled in 2015 that Article 370 was a permanent feature of the Constitution.
Some other individuals have also filed a petition in the Supreme Court but they were not listed for hearing on Friday.
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MP: Woman, lover conspire to get husband killed; police looking for contract killer
Dhar (MP) (PTI): A 25-year-old woman and her lover have been arrested in the district for allegedly conspiring to kill her husband by hiring a contract killer, police said on Thursday.
The case was solved within 36 hours of the murder though the woman initially tried to mislead the police by claiming that robbers killed her husband, an official said.
Dev Krishna Purohit (28) was stabbed to death on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday at his house in Gondikheda Charan village, about 60 km from here.
Superintendent of Police Mayank Awasthi told reporters that accused Priyanka Purohit (25) was married to Dev Krishna when she was around 15 years old. Priyanka moved to her matrimonial home after attaining adulthood but was unwilling to live with her husband, leading to frequent disputes between them.
During investigation, it emerged that she was in a relationship with Kamlesh (32), the SP said.
The duo allegedly hatched a plan to kill Dev Krishna and hired a man identified as Surendra for Rs 1 lakh do the job, he said
After Dev Krishna was killed, Priyanka told police that unidentified persons broke into the house, attacked her husband with a sharp weapon while holding her captive in another room, and fled with valuables.
But the inconsistencies in her statements raised suspicion, and eventually she confessed to hatching the murder conspiracy, the SP said.
While she and Kamlesh were arrested, police are looking for the contract killer, the official added.
