SC and Article 370

SUPREME COURT & ARTICLE 370

Yesterday the constitution bench of the SC headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, along with Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, and Suryakant delivered the judgment against the several petitions filed by various groups/politicians on abrogation of Article 370 in erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K).

The CJI, while reading out the judgment said the issues at hand were:

• Whether Article 370 was temporary- yes it was temporary
• Whether the substitution of ‘constituent assembly’ by the legislative assembly by using 370(1)(d) valid-yes it is valid
• Whether the Presidential Order is invalid for lack of recommendation of J&K Constituent Assembly- As the Constituent Assembly is replaced by legislative assembly- The President’s Order is not invalid.

These were the basic issues raised in all the petitions filed. Friends, you will recall that the Modi government in August 2019 abrogated Article 370 with the President’s order, and later this abrogation was passed in both houses of Parliament. With this order, the state of J&K was dissolved and converted into two Union Territories (UT), namely J&K and Ladakh. In its verdict, the SC also upheld the division of the erstwhile J&K state into two UTs but added that as promised by the Central government in the Parliament, the territory J&K should be restored as the State withholding assembly elections before 30^th September 2024, Ladakh will be UT now. Further, the SC said, that on whether J&K retained an element of sovereignty or internal sovereignty when it joined the Union of India, we judge that it has not.

Here are the Key points from the SC’s judgment:

• The SC upheld the Centre’s decision to scrap Article 370, asserting that Jammu and Kashmir possesses no unique internal sovereignty compared to other Indian states.
• The SC upheld the validity of the Centre’s decision to carve out the Union Territory of Ladakh from J&K in 2019.
• The SC directed that the restoration of statehood in the UT of J&K shall be done at the earliest.
• The SC directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to hold elections in J&K by 30^th September 2024.
• The SC refused to rule on the validity of the Presidential rule imposed in J&K state in December 2018 since it was not challenged specifically by the petitioners.
• The SC held that Article 370 is a temporary provision. Article 370 was an interim arrangement due to war conditions in the state.
• When a proclamation under Article 356 comes into force, countless decision are taken by the Centre. Not every action can be challenged in the courts. ( Article 356 allows the Centre to dismiss an elected state government and impose the President’s Rule).

When Article 370 was abrogated in August 2019, the political parties at that time stood divided on this issue;

Parties who supported the government’s move to scrap Article 370 were BSP, AAP, YSR Congress, BJD, TDP, AIADMK, Shiv Sena, Akali Dal, and Asom Gana Parishad.

The main opposition came from-

Congress- Terming the revoking of Article 370 as a ‘catastrophic step’, the Congress accused BJP of taking the decision for votes and said it marks a black day in the constitutional history of India. Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said’ that Kashmir’s head, considered India’s crown, has been chopped off, and its identity removed. Kapil Sibal said we (Congress) won Kashmir and you lost Kashmir.

People’s Democratic Party’s leader Mehbooba Mufti said ‘India has failed Kashmir in keeping its promises.

National Conference’s leader Omar Abdullah said ‘the government’s move on Article 370 was unilateral and shocking. It is a total betrayal  of trust of the people of J&K)

Other political who opposed the scrapping of Article 370 were Janata Dal (U), DMK, RJD, Left parties, Trinamool Congress, and NCP.

Before August 2019, parties like Congress thought that no political leader had the guts to remove Article 370, as it would lead to a bloodbath in Kashmir. Leaders like Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti, and other Kashmiri leaders were openly challenging Modi saying that he has no guts to remove Article 370, Abdullah went to the extent and said “ Kisi Ke Baap Mein Dam Nahin Jo Article 370 Ko Hata Sake”.

In the end, it has been proven that Narendra Modi and Amit Shah (of the ruling party BJP) had the guts to abrogate Article 370, and their action has been endorsed by the SC of the country.

So the Congress Party, Kashmiri leaders, Left parties, and members of the Lutyen gang should stop speaking on this matter because they have spoken so much against this issue. After the SC’s verdict are they going to apologise to the public for spreading false and malicious information?

So at last, once and for all the issue of Article 370 has ended, which we have been hearing for decades in this country.

Waiting for your views on this blog.

Anil Malik

Mumbai, India

12^th December 2023