Abrogation of Article 370 Upheld by the Supreme Court
Image Source: News India Official
In a significant judgment on Monday, a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, has unanimously upheld the repeal of Article 370 by the Centre on August 5, 2019. The court upheld the power of the President to abrogate the provisions of Article 370 by unilaterally issuing a notification to that effect. This decision of the President resulted in the reorganization of the fully-fledged state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories, namely Ladakh and J&K, with a legislative assembly for the latter, and the removal of special privileges enjoyed by the erstwhile state.
The apex court has called upon the Central Government to enforce the restoration of ‘statehood’ to the UT of J&K ‘at the earliest’ and also directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to conduct elections to the Legislative Assembly by September 30, 2024. It has been nine years since the last assembly polls were held in the erstwhile state, which was later brought under Centre’s rule in 2018, before being reconstituted as a Union Territory in 2019.
The court has also upheld the carving out of Ladakh as a separate Union Territory under the J&K Reorganisation Act. This decision is expected to have a bearing on the ongoing talks between civil society and the Union Home Ministry over the demands for granting ‘statehood’ to Ladakh and its inclusion in the sixth schedule of the Indian Constitution.
Reiterating the temporary nature of Article 370, the court stated that according to it, a permanent status will undo the efforts of the past 70 years to integrate J&K with the Union of India. Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, one of the five judges on the bench, recommended the setting up of an impartial ‘Truth and Reconciliation Commission’ to investigate and report on the human rights violations committed by both state and non-state actors in J&K since the 1980s and recommend measures for reconciliation.
While the decision of the Supreme Court has been welcomed by the Centre, regional parties of J&K have expressed disappointment over it and pledged to continue their political struggle towards the restoration of the pre-Aug 2019 status.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the verdict ‘historic’, whereas Home Minister Amit Shah termed it as a tribute to those who were martyred fighting for “One Constitution, One Flag, and One Prime Minister” for the country. Congress asserted that the debate on this issue is now settled and it will not seek judicial review of the judgment but demanded restoration of statehood and holding of elections in the UT of J&K.
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