According to a report by Bar and Bench, a Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud will hear a batch of around 20 petitions challenging the Central government’s decision to revoke Article 370, which granted special status to the former state of Jammu & Kashmir. The other judges on the bench are Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, and Surya Kant.

The case has been scheduled for directions on July 11. During this hearing, the Court will also address whether bureaucrat Shah Faesal’s petition can be withdrawn.

More than 20 petitions are currently pending before the Supreme Court, challenging the Central government’s decision to revoke Article 370. This decision resulted in the nullification of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, followed by the division of the former state into two Union Territories.

In March 2020, a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court declined to refer the batch of petitions to a larger seven-judge Constitution Bench, despite some petitioners requesting a reference. The petitioners argued that two previous Supreme Court judgments, Prem Nath Kaul v. State of Jammu & Kashmir and Sampat Prakash v. State of Jammu & Kashmir, which were delivered by five-judge benches and dealt with the interpretation of Article 370, were contradictory. However, the five-judge bench hearing the case concluded that there was no conflict between the two judgments.

These pleas were also brought up before a Bench presided over by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud in February of this year. At that time, the Chief Justice stated that he would make a decision regarding their listing.