Supreme Court upholds abrogation of Article 370; no special powers for Kashmir

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday issued a significant verdict on the central government's action regarding the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status under Article 370. Chief Justice Chandrachud clarified that Article 370 is temporary and Kashmir does not hold exclusive sovereignty. The verdict affirms that Kashmir operates under the Indian Constitution and does not possess powers distinct from other states.

Highlighting that Article 370 was invoked during wartime, the Supreme Court firmly stated that it did not intervene in the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly in Kashmir. The verdict addressing 23 petitions against the central government's move to abrogate Article 370 upholds that Kashmir is an integral part of India and didn't have separate sovereignty upon joining.

The five-member Constitution bench including Chief Justice DY Chandrachud delivered this crucial judgment notably coinciding with the imminent retirement of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, a member of the bench and a Kashmiri Pandit.

The petitions challenged the legality of the Centre's decision to revoke Article 370 which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir transforming it into Union Territories. However, as the petitioners did not specifically contest the validity of the President's rule imposed in December 2018, the Supreme Court refrained from intervening in that matter.

Debates centred on whether the central government had the authority to act in Kashmir without consulting its people. The petitioners claimed a lack of consultation, while the Center argued that the region had returned to normalcy after the abolition of the special status subsiding the three-decade-long conflict. Notably, the Youth for Panun Kashmir, a group representing Kashmiri Pandits supported the Centre's stance by approaching the court.