If needed, will go to J&K high court: CJI on allegations of access denial
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi on Monday said that he will go to Jammu and Kashmir high court and speak to the chief justice after allegations that people aren’t being able to access the court.
Hearing the plea filed by child rights activist Enakshi Ganguly alleging difficulty in accessing the high court, Justice Gogoi said, “Access to the high court is seriously affected, we seek reply from the chief justice of the high court in the matter. If required, I will go to the high court and speak to the chief justice. If people can’t approach the HC we have to do something. It is a very, very serious matter if people are unable to approach the High Court, I will myself visit Srinagar.
”The top court also directed the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice to submit a report on whether the high court is accessible to litigants. The CJI also warned petitioners to be ready to face the ‘consequences’ if the HC chief justice’s report was contrary to their plea.
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Ghulam Nabi Azad allowed to visit Kashmir
The Supreme Court also allowed senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad to visit Jammu and Kashmir, but said he cannot hold any political rally.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, S A Bobde and S Abdul Nazeer, was told by senior advocate A M Singhvi, who was appearing for Azad, that he wants to meet the people and inquire about their welfare.
Singhvi said Azad had tried to visit the state thrice, but was turned back from the airport.
Responding to the permit Ghulam Nabi Azad said, “I am thankful to Supreme Court for permitting me to travel to Jammu & Kashmir. I’ll present my report before SC. I am happy that no less than CJI has shown his concern and he has held that he should visit J&K and see how things are moving.”In his plea, Azad had also sought a nod from the top court to visit his family members and relatives.
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Court to hear plea challenging the President’s rule in the state
The apex court also agreed to hear the petition filed by the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference (JKPC) challenging the President’s Rule imposed in the state and abrogation of provisions of Article 370, which gave special status to the state.
The petition requests examining the legal validity of the Presidential order on abrogation of Article 370 from the state.
However, the bench declined to entertain other fresh petitions on the issue of the scrapping of Article 370. The bench said it is not going to multiply the petitions on the issue of Article 370. It said people who want to argue on the issue can file impleadment application.
