What the Supreme Court said in its recent verdict
A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on Monday unanimously upheld the power of the President to abrogate special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370.
This verdict leads to the reorganisation of the full-fledged State to two Union Territories and the removal of its privileges.
The five-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India confirmed that the President could “unilaterally issue a notification that Article 370 ceases to exist”.
The court held that the President had the power to do so.
The court cannot sit in appeal over the decision of the President on whether the special circumstances which led to the arrangement under Article 370 have ceased to exist,” the CJI reasoned.
The court said the President’s decision in 2019 was the culmination of a “gradual and collaborative exercise” spread over the past 70 years between the Centre and the State to integrate Jammu and Kashmir with the Union.
The objective of the integration process was to make the entirety of the rights and obligations enshrined in the Indian Constitution applicable to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, in an epilogue, referred to witnessing the inter-generational trauma caused by violence and mass migration during his travels to Jammu and Kashmir.
He proposed the setting up of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to reach out to the people.
It accepted the assurance of the Centre to restore Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir “at the earliest” and directed the Election Commission of India to hold Assembly polls by September 30, 2024.
The court found it unnecessary to examine whether the reorganisation of the State into two Union Territories had been even permissible.
The Bench further upheld the carving out of the Union Territory of Ladakh from the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
COMMENTS