Supreme Court backs Centre's decision to abrogate Article 370
Supreme Court on Monday upheld the Centre's decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution, which conferred special status on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, ruling that it was a temporary provision and that the President had the power to revoke it.
A five-judge Constitution bench also unanimously upheld the Centre's decision, of August 5, 2019, to divide the former state into two Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh, while directing that statehood be restored to J&K «at the earliest» and that elections be held to its legislative assembly by September next year.
The bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, held that «Article 370 was a feature of asymmetric federalism and not sovereignty». It delivered three judgments, one authored by the CJI, with inputs from justices BR Gavai and Surya Kant, and two separate yet concurring judgments by justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sanjiv Khanna.
'No Internal Sovereignty for J&K'
The bench ruled that the former state did not «retain any element of sovereignty after the execution of instrument of accession and issuance of the Proclamation (November 25, 1949) by which the Constitution of India was adopted» and that J&K does not have «internal sovereignty which is distinguishable from the powers and privileges enjoyed by other states in the country».
It ruled that «the President in exercise of power under Article 370(3) can unilaterally issue a notification that Article 370 ceases to exist».
