Several petitions were filed in the Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking review of its December 11 verdict upholding the revocation of Article 370 of the Constitution that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

The petitioners include the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association, Awami National Conference, Muzaffar Iqbal Khan and Jammu and Kashmir People’s Movement.

The review petition filed by Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association through advocate Dharmendra Kumar Sinha said the verdict has errors and there are sufficient grounds to review it. The petition said the verdict erroneously concluded that the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir lost its sovereignty after Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession (IOA) in 1947.

“It is submitted that the conclusion suffers from an error apparent on the face of records. Mere execution of IOA, without anything more, does not result in loss of total sovereignty,” it said.

The plea, while citing several other “erroneous conclusions”, said Article 370 was not a concession but the outcome of the act of State.

“The view of the court that Article 370 was declared to be temporary because of the conditions in the State, otherwise the State had fully integrated with the Union, is a finding, with respect, unsustainable... The view taken by the court therefore is clearly unsustainable and qualifies as an error apparent on face of record,” the review plea said.

On December 11, settling the decades-long debate over the contentious issue of Article 370 after a marathon 16-day hearing, the five-judge bench delivered three concurring judgements upholding the abrogation of Article 370 that provided a unique status to Jammu and Kashmir when it acceded to the Union of India in 1947. The Centre had abrogated Article 370 on August 5, 2019.

PTI