The Supreme Court of India’s Constitution bench is now considering a number of appeals that contest the decision to strike down Article 370 of the Constitution, which conferred special status to the former state of Jammu and Kashmir. The bench consists of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, and Surya Kant in addition to Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud.
The Supreme Court is currently debating more than 20 petitions. These petitions contest the central government’s decision to remove Article 370 from the Constitution in 2019. This action resulted in Jammu and Kashmir’s former special status being revoked. The former state was split into two distinct Union Territories after this revocation.
The five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court decided in March 2020 not to refer this group of petitions to a bigger seven-judge Constitution Bench. This transfer had been sought by certain petitioners.
The Supreme Court started its last hearings on the case on August 2. One of the first things the petitioners were asked was whether the authors of Article 370 and the Constitution as a whole intended the provision to be permanent or temporary. The Court further questioned whether the dissolution of the Jammu and Kashmir Constituent Assembly in 1957 had proved the provision’s permanence.
Later, on August 10, the Court underlined that Jammu & Kashmir’s unconditional incorporation with India in 1948. This integration, according to Chief Justice Chandrachud, was total and unwavering in every way.
On August 24, the Central government began arguing for its choice to remove Article 370 in 2019. In his remarks on behalf of the government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta cited Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s declaration that India would not consider the rulers of princely states that joined India as possessing any “divine” powers.
The Supreme Court noted on August 28 that although Article 35A of the Constitution was deleted in 2019, it had in fact given the people of Jammu and Kashmir exceptional rights. This also limited some of the fundamental rights of people from other parts of India.
The Punjab and northeastern states, among other sections of the nation, have experienced difficulties due to militancy and separatism, the supreme court noted during the most recent hearing on August 29. The Court stated that Jammu and Kashmir shouldn’t be singled out in this situation.