SC declines urgent hearing of a plea against Centre's restrictions in J&K

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday turned down a plea to urgently hear a petition challenging the presidential order doing away with the need for the Centre to consult the state Assembly before changing or abrogating Article 370, with a sarcastic “you think the UN will stay a constitutional amendment?”

The bench told lawyer Manoharlal Sharma that there was no need for an urgent hearing. The presidential order had set the stage for the Centre to declare Ladakh and J&K as UTs with an Assembly.

Sharma in his plea urged the court to quash the presidential order. A demand that a bench led by Justice NV Ramana scoffed at. Fresh petitions filed in the court get listed in a week for a hearing but have to be mentioned on an out-of-turn basis before senior-most judge available.