Article 370: Centre tells SC J-K Constitution subordinate to Indian Constitution, people were misguided that special provisions were not discrimination but privilege
Centre's submission on pleas challenging the abrogation of Article 370 that the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir is «subordinate» to the Indian Constitution, which is on a higher pedestal.
A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, however, did not seem to be in agreement with the plea that the Constituent Assembly of the erstwhile state, which was disbanded in 1957, was in reality a legislative assembly.
Without naming the two mainstream political parties of the erstwhile state, the Centre said citizens have been misguided that the special provisions for Jammu and Kashmir were «not discrimination but a privilege».
«Even today two political parties are before this court defending Article 370 and 35A,» the solicitor general told the top court on the 11th day of hearing the litany of pleas challenging the abrogation of the constitutional provision which bestowed special status to the erstwhile state of J-K.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said there is enough material to show that the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir is subordinate to the Constitution of India and the constituent assembly of J-K was in reality a legislative assembly making laws.
«At one level, you may be right subject to rejoinder arguments from the other side (petitioners' side) that the Constitution of India is really a document which lies on a higher platform than that of the Constitution of J-K,» the bench also comprising justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai and Surya Kant said.
It told Mehta that it would be difficult to accept the second limb of the argument that the Constituent Assembly (CA) of J-K was, in reality, a legislative assembly as proviso to Article 370 specifically mentioned that
