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Jammu and Kashmir: Supreme Court to hear petitions challenging abrogation of Article 370 today. 10 points

2023-07-17 00:00:00.0 铸币报-政治原网页

The Supreme Court of India has scheduled a hearing for the petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 of the constitution on July 11 that is today. The case will be heard by a five-judge constitution bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud.

The Central government filed an affidavit defending the abrogation of Article 370 in the Supreme Court yesterday. The affidavit highlighted the stability and progress witnessed in Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation, including the reduction of stone-pelting incidents and the dismantling of terror networks. “Jammu and Kashmir was facing the brunt of terrorism for the last three decades. To curb it, the only way was to remove Article 370," the affidavit stated. The abrogation of the Article has led to the introduction of the three-tier Panchayati Raj system and successful elections to district development councils. "Today, all necessary institutions including schools, colleges, industries are running normally in the Valley. Industrial development is happening and people who lived in fear are living peacefully," the affidavit stated. The affidavit notes that local languages like Kashmiri, Dogri, Urdu, and Hindi have been added as official languages, fulfilling the demands of the people. The affidavit was filed in response to more than 20 pending petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 Article 370 of the Indian constitution granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, a disputed region in northern India. It provided Jammu and Kashmir with a separate constitution, a state flag, and internal administrative autonomy. Following the convening of the state constituent assembly, it recommended the provisions of the Indian constitution applicable to Jammu and Kashmir, leading to the issuance of the 1954 Presidential Order. Since the state constituent assembly dissolved itself without recommending the abrogation of Article 370, the article was considered a permanent feature of the Indian Constitution. On August 5, 2019, the Government of India issued a Presidential Order superseding the 1954 order, making all provisions of the Indian constitution applicable to Jammu and Kashmir, reported Bar and Bench. The order was based on a resolution passed with a two-thirds majority in both houses of India's parliament. A subsequent order on August 6 rendered all clauses of Article 370, except clause 1, inoperative. The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 was enacted, dividing the state into two union territories: the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh. The reorganisation took effect on October 31, 2019.

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The petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 were last listed for hearing in March 2020. A five-judge bench declined to refer the matter to a larger bench.

During that hearing, the bench noted that there was another batch of petitions already pending in the Supreme Court, challenging the validity of Articles 370 and 35A, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The bench decided to hear all matters related to Article 370 together.

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