While passing a judgement on the abrogation of Article 370 against the Center’s decision to scrap special status for Jammu and Kashmir, the Supreme Court said that it was a temporary provision due to war conditions in the State.
The SC upheld the validity of the abrogation of Article 370 and the carving out of Ladakh into a Union Territory and stated that the Election Commission of India must hold the elections for the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir before September 30, 2024, adding that statehood must be restored at the earliest.
The Indian government scrapped the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019 and divided the state into two Union Territories: Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. “We hold that the president seeking concurrence of the Union and not the state is valid; all provisions of the Indian Constitution can be applied to J-K,” said CJI Chandrachud.
The SC rejected the petitioners’ arguments that no irreversible action can be taken by the Center during the President’s rule.
According to the Supreme Court, Jammu and Kashmir became an integral part of India, as evident from Articles 1 and 370 of the Constitution. The bench added that Jammu and Kashmir did not retain an element of internal sovereignty when it joined the Union of India.
A five-judge constitution bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, and Surya Kant on Monday, December 11, delivered the verdict on the abrogation of Article 370.
The Supreme Court declined to adjudicate the validity of the presidential rule imposed in Jammu and Kashmir in December 2018 since it was not specifically contested by the petitioner.
