Mohammed Akbar Lone, the National Conference (NC) MP from Jammu and Kashmir, has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court pledging his allegiance to the Indian constitution on Tuesday. This comes a day after the Apex Court asked the leader to provide an affidavit confirming his allegiance to the Indian Constitution and acknowledging India's sovereignty. The demand from top court was followed by accusations that Lone had chanted 'Pakistan Zindabad' in the Jammu & Kashmir assembly in 2018, leading to a significant controversy.
In his affidavit on Tuesday, Lone said: "1. Mohammad Akbar Lone S/o, Late Abdul Gani Lone, Aged 77 Years, working as Member Parliament Baramulla Constituency J&K, do hereby affirm and state on oath:
1. That I am a responsible and dutiful citizen of the Union of India. I have exercised my right to approach this Hon'ble Court through Article 32 of the Constitution.
2. That I reiterate the oath taken while being sworn in as Member of Parliament to preserve and uphold the provisions of the Constitution of India and to protect the territorial integrity of the Nation."
Lone has been spearheading the legal challenge against the revocation of Article 370. The Centre's move in 2019 scrapped the special status given to the only Muslim-majority state in India.
Earlier on Monday, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the government, called upon Mohd Akbar Lone to issue an apology for the purported 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogan he is accused of uttering in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly back in 2018. The government's position is that Mohd Akbar Lone should express his commitment to the Constitution and make amends for the incident by apologising, SG Mehta said.
The hearing on day 15 began on fiery note as the defendants and petitioners argued over the affidavit filed by petitioner number 1 Mohammed Akbar Lone. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal remarked that the proceedings in the court were essentially aimed at garnering attention in the media. “All this is being televised, let us refrain from doing all this,” he said.
Hearing concludes on batch of pleas challenging Article 370 revocation
On Tuesday afternoon, the Supreme Court of India concluded its hearings on a series of petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370. These arguments, which commenced on August 2 and were conducted on a daily basis, were presented before a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice of India, DY Chandarchud.
Throughout the course of these hearings, prominent lawyers such as Gopal Subramaniam, Dr. Dhawan, Adv. Dave, and Advocate Kapil Sibal, among others, argued that the Government of India's revocation of Article 370 was unconstitutional. In contrast, the government contended that the abrogation of the Article was necessary to align Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India.
