Five-judge SC bench to hear separate Kashmir pleas today

New Delhi: The Supreme Court refused on Monday to further entertain Rajya Sabha MP Vaiko's plea seeking former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah's production before it and said the MDMK leader could challenge the NC leader's detention order under the Public Safety Act.

"He (Abdullah) is under detention under the Public Safety Act," a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi told Vaiko's counsel.

Earlier, the Supreme Court referred a batch of petitions challenging abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir to its Constitution bench which would hear the matters from Tuesday.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi referred the pleas, which also raised issues of alleged restrictions imposed on the movement of journalists in Kashmir as well as petitions claiming illegal detention of minors in the Valley, to its five-judge bench.

A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice N V Ramana will hear the matters related to the Kashmir issue from Tuesday.