SG prays SC to “Read what is not written” in the Affidavit
Rattan Singh Gill
New Delhi, Sep 5: National Conference leader and Lok Sabha Member Mohd Akbar Lone Tuesday filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, asserting he reiterates the oath taken while being sworn in as an MP to preserve and uphold the ‘Provisions' of the Constitution of India and to protect the ‘territorial integrity of Nation'.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, objected to the content of the affidavit which said, “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.
“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 Nation.”
Mehta urged the top court to read what was not written in the affidavit and said Lone had expressed no remorse in the affidavit for his alleged conduct. Mehta requested the Bench to ‘Read what is not written' and asked the Court to say something on it and the Chief Justice, replied, ‘We will analyze it.'
Analyzing the Affidavit filed by Mohd Akbar Lone, the Northlines find the contents of the Affidavit crafty as nowhere in the Affidavit Akbar Lone reiterated the text of real Oath “…..I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India and that I will faithfully discharge the duty upon which I am about to enter.”
Akbar Lone deliberately and specially used the phrase ‘'Provisions” of the Constitution of India instead of simply the ‘Constitution of India' which has different political connotations that he has faith and allegiance to all ‘Provisions of the Constitution of India' implying that that ‘Provisions' includes Art. 370, Art 35 A and all the Constitutional Orders of 1954 that had established the relationship of Jammu Kashmir with India.
Instead of simply reiterating that “I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, he shrewdly mentions “protect the ‘territorial integrity of Nation' but the question is which Nation? Was it so hard for Akbar Lone to write merely five digits of India instead of Nation when it comes to sovereignty and Integrity? It is pertinent to recall that Kashmir Centric leaders of the National Conference and PDP and others too, have been prompting, promoting and pampering Kashmir as a Nation impliedly within their political discourse and as a part of the narrative for their supporters outside India.
Leaving aside the Centre's demand to express remorse and apology, the NC leader has dubiously tried to cheat and mislead the highest court of India and the entire country by carefully using this jugglery of words. The contents of the Affidavit are neither what was asked by the Supreme Court nor the Oath of Member Parliament which Akbar claimed to have reiterated in his Affidavit. While the legal luminaries will rip apart this farce soon, how the Apex Court will take it after analysing the contents of the Affidavit, will be seen in the coming days.
The apex court had on Monday directed Lone to file an affidavit swearing allegiance to the Constitution of India and accepting the country's sovereignty unconditionally, after the ‘Pakistan Zindabaad' slogan that he had raised in the Jammu & Kashmir assembly in 2018 kicked up a massive row during the constitution bench hearing on abrogation of Article 370.
At the fag end of the proceedings, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Lone, submitted the affidavit to the five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, which said it will examine it.
After the first petitioner Shah Faisal withdrew his petition, Lone became the lead petitioner challenging the abrogation of Article 370 that accorded special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
