SC asks Akbar Lone to file an affidavit affirming allegiance to the Constitution

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Monday asked National Conference leader Mohd Akbar Lone to file an affidavit swearing allegiance to the Constitution of India and accepting the country’s sovereignty unconditionally, after the ‘Pakistan zindabad’ slogan that he allegedly raised in the Jammu & Kashmir Assembly in 2018 kicked up a massive row.

Lone, the lead petitioner challenging the abrogation of Article 370 that accorded special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, will file the affidavit by Tuesday, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who represented him in the matter, told a five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud. The senior lawyer said he will not represent Lone if he does not file the affidavit as sought.

“He is an MP of Lok Sabha. He is a citizen of India and sworn to his office by the Constitution. He accepts the sovereignty of India,” Sibal told the bench, also comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai and Surya Kant.

Earlier in the day, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told the bench that the central government wanted Lone to apologise for raising Pakistan zindabad’ (long live Pakistan) slogan in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly in 2018.

Lone has to state that he owes allegiance to the Constitution and apologises for raising the slogan on the floor of the House, the law officer said, while pointing to the matter having been brought to the court’s notice by a Kashmiri Pandit group.

NGO ‘Roots in Kashmir’, which claims to be a group of Kashmiri Pandit youths, has questioned the credentials of Lone, claiming he was a supporter of secessionist forces.