SC upholds abrogation of Article 370: Here are top 10 points from verdict

The five-judge Constitution Bench directed the Election Commission to hold polls in Jammu and Kashmir by September 30, 2024

The Supreme Court (SC) of Monday upheld the Centre's abrogation of Article 370, and said that the article was a temporary provision and the state of Jammu & Kashmir did not retain any element of sovereignty after its accession to India in 1948. It said that Article 370 was a feature of asymmetric federalism.

However, the court said that the Centre has amended the laws in J&K beyond its power. It directed the Election Commission (EC) to hold polls in J&K by September 30, 2024. "The restoration of the state should take place as soon as possible," it said.

Here are the top 10 points from the SC verdict:

1. The five-judge Constitution Bench of the apex court said that the President's 2019 order to scrap Jammu and Kashmir's special status was valid.

2. The SC said that the Bench, headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, had a unanimous verdict on a batch of pleas challenging the abrogation of Article 370.

3. The apex court said that Article 370 was a feature of asymmetric federalism.

4. The court directed the Election Commission to hold polls in Jammu and Kashmir by September 30, 2024. The SC stated, "The restoration of the state should take place as soon as possible."

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5. It upheld the reorganisation of Ladakh as Union Territory, as Article 3 allows it. CJI Chandrachud said, "In view of the Centre's submission that the UT status is temporary, the court doesn't find it necessary to determine if the reorganisation into UTs is valid. The reorganisation of Ladakh as UT is upheld," he said.

6. CJI Chandrachud said that the J&K Constituent Assembly was intended to be a temporary body.

7. He said that the Bench held that Article 370 was a temporary provision due to the war conditions in the state. "Textual reading also indicates that Article 370 is a temporary provision," said the CJI.

8. CJI Chandrachud also said that the exercise of Article 370 (1) shows that the state has undergone gradual integration with the Union since 1948.

9. CJI Chandrachud said, "We hold that the effect of the Presidential Power to issue a notification abrogating Article 370 subsists."

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10. The Bench upheld that Jammu and Kashmir does not have internal sovereignty that is different from other states. It added that the argument of petitioners that the Union government cannot take actions of irreversible consequences in the state during Presidential rule was not accepted. The CJI said, "Every decision taken by the Union on behalf of the state during the Presidential rule is not open to challenge. This will lead to the administration of the state to a standstill."

Abrogation of Article 370

On August 5, 2019, the Centre, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, decided to abrogate Article 370, Jammu and Kashmir's special status, through a presidential order. This move was followed by a proposal to bifurcate the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two separate union territories — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.