What the SC said on Article 370 and key takeaways of verdict

The Supreme Court on Monday delivered a landmark verdict on Article 370. The five-judge bench presided over by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud also comprised justices SK Kaul, Sanjeev Khanna, BR Gavai and Surya Kant. The apex court upheld the Centre’s decision to revoke Article 370 which bestowed special status on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. It also directed that steps be taken to hold Assembly polls by 30 September, 2024. It also directed the Centre to restore statehood to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir as soon as possible. The bench assembled around 11 am to pronounce its three separate and concurring verdicts. Justices Kaul and Khanna wrote their judgments separately. Let’s take a closer look at the verdict and the big takeaways: Upheld decision to revoke Article 370 CJI Chandrachud, who penned a verdict on behalf of himself, justices Gavai and Surya Kant, said Article 370 of the Constitution was a temporary provision. He added that the president has the power to revoke it. Indian Express quoted Chandrachud as saying that there was no prima facie evidence that the president’s 2019 orders were mala fide or an example of extraneous exercise of power. “We hold the exercise of presidential power to issue constitutional order abrogating Article 370 of Constitution as valid,” the CJI said.

As per NDTV, Chandrachud said the apex court cannot sit in appeal over the President’s decision.

“This court cannot sit in appeal over the decision of the President of India on whether the special circumstances under Article 370 exist…History shows gradual process of constitutional integration was not going on…It was not as if after 70 years Constitution of India was applied in one go. It was a culmination of the integration process,” Live Law quoted Chandrachud as saying. [caption id=“attachment_13488902” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The five-judge Constitution Bench was led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud. ANI[/caption] “Article 370(3) was introduced for constitutional integration and not for constitutional disintegration. Holding that 370(3) cannot be used after constituent assembly was dissolved cannot be accepted,” Chandrachud was quoted as saying by Bar and Bench. In his concurring judgment, Justice Khanna said the purpose of Article 370 was to slowly bring Jammu and Kashmir at par with other Indian states. J&K has no special relationship with India The erstwhile state does not have internal sovereignty different from other states of the country, the CJI added. “All States in the country have legislative and executive power, albeit to differing degrees. Article 371A to 371J are examples of special arrangements for different states. This is an example of asymmetric federalism,” the court noted as per Live Law.

“… all provisions of the Indian Constitution can be applied to J-K,” the CJI said.

As per Indian Express, the CJI stated that Jammu and Kashmir does not have a special relationship to the Indian Constitution. “It was only to further the relationship with the Union which was already defined under Article 370 and the proclamation by Yuvraj Karan Singh,” he added. Jammu and Kashmir became an integral part of India and this is evident from Articles 1 and 370, Chandrachud said while pronouncing the judgment. “The Constituent Assembly of J&K was never intended to be a permanent body,” the CJI stated. Article 370, Justice Chandrachud said, was an interim arrangement due to war conditions in the erstwhile state. Carve out UT of Ladakh The Centre had on 5 August, 2019, abrogated the provisions of Article 370 as well as bifurcated the then state into the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. As per Live Law, the reorganisation of Ladakh as Union Territory was upheld.

The court ruled that  Article 3 allows a part of a state to be made into a Union Territory.

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Article 3 of the J&K Constitution reads: “The State of Jammu and Kashmir is and shall be an integral part of the Union of India.” However, the court left the question of whether Parliament could convert a State into a Union Territory unanswered. Directs EC to hold Assembly polls, Centre to restore statehood The apex court also directed the EC to hold Assembly polls and the Centre to restore statehood. [caption id=“attachment_13222202” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar. ANI[/caption] “We direct that steps shall be taken by the Election Commission of India to conduct elections to the Legislative Assemblies of Jammu and Kashmir constituted under Section 14 of the Reorganisation Act by 30 September, 2024. Restoration of Statehood shall take place at the earliest, and as soon as possible,” the court ordered. Truth and reconciliation commission Justice Kaul directed the setting up of a truth-and-reconciliation commission to probe human rights violations both by the state and non-state actors. The apex court reserved its verdict in the matter on 5 September after a 16-day hearing on a batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370. “The commission must be set up before memory escapes. The exercise must be time-bound,” Justice Kaul was quoted as saying by Live Law. “It is for the government to decide the manner in which the Truth and Reconciliation Commission must be set up, considering the sensitivities of the issues involved. Truth and Reconciliation Commission could facilitate a reparative approach, that enables forgiveness for the wounds of the past and forms the basis of achieving a shared national identity,” Kaul wrote as per Live Law. PM Modi, Amit Shah hail SC vedict Hailing the Supreme Court’s verdict upholding the government’s decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution as “historic”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Monday that it is not just a legal judgment, but a “beacon of hope” and a testament to the collective resolve to build a stronger and more united India. In a post on X, Modi said the Supreme Court verdict on the abrogation of Article 370 is “historic” and constitutionally upholds the decision taken by Parliament on August 5, 2019. “It is a resounding declaration of hope, progress and unity for our sisters and brothers in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. The court, in its profound wisdom, has fortified the very essence of unity that we, as Indians, hold dear and cherish above all else,” he said. “I want to assure the resilient people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh that our commitment to fulfilling your dreams remains unwavering,” the prime minister added. “We are determined to ensure that the fruits of progress not only reach you but also extend their benefits to the most vulnerable and marginalised sections of our society who suffered due to Article 370,” he asserted.   The verdict is not just a legal judgment, it is a beacon of hope, a promise for a brighter future and a testament to the collective resolve to build a stronger, more united India, the prime minister said on the microblogging platform, using the hashtag “NayaJammuKashmir”. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday also welcomed apex court decision, saying the ruling has proved that the August 5, 2019 decision was “completely constitutional”. In a series of posts on X soon after the Supreme Court verdict, Shah, the architect of the entire move to abrogate Article 370, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a visionary decision five years ago that brought peace and normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir. “I welcome the Honourable Supreme Court of India’s verdict upholding the decision to abolish Article 370. On August 5, 2019, PM Narendra Modi took a visionary decision to abrogate Article 370. Since then peace and normalcy have returned to J&K,” he said. Indian Express quoted Solicitor General Tushar Mehta as saying that today “will go down in the history of India when a himalayan constitutional blunder of the past with gigantic proportion is ultimately corrected by the Government”. “The highest court of the country, the most powerful court in the world, has stood by the constitutional values and has secured to all residents of Jammu and Kashmir their legitimate rights which they were deprived of since independence while taking care of democratic election also,” Mehta added. With inputs from agencies