The Supreme Court has upheld the decision of the center to vacate Article 370 of the Indian constitution which grant special status to Jammu & Kashmir under which the constituent assembly of Jammu & Kashmir would be empowered to recommend the extent to which the Indian constitution would apply to the state.
The verdict of Article 370 is reserved by a Five-Judge Constitutional bench, directed by the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud. They review the decision made the Union Government on the Article 370 which was scrapped back in 2019 resulting in the separation of the state into two union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
The chief justice states that the provision of the Article 370 of the Indian Constitution granted to Jammu & Kashmir was temporary. The Supreme Court today gave its pronouncement to the Election Commission (EC) of India to hold elections in Jammu & Kashmir by September 2024.
Hope shines bright as Justice S. Kaul gives a separate statement regarding Article 370 :
In a separate ruling aiming the hearing of Article 370 of Jammu & Kashmir, Justice Sanjay Kaul states “I recommend the setting up of an impartial truth and reconciliation committee to investigate and report on violations of human rights both by the state and non-state action atleast since the 1980s and recommend measures for reconciliation. He also said : The purpose of Article 370 was to slowly bring Jammu and Kashmir on par with the other States of India.
“To move forward, wounds require healing. Inter-generational trauma is felt by people. Recognizing the act of violation comitted by the state and its actors is the initial move toward healing the wounds,” he added.
The reorganization of Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir as a territory is upheld as Article 3 allows a portion of State to be made as UT. The matter of whether Parliament has the authority to transform a state into a union territory remains undecided.
Views regarding the decision :
HOWEVER, there have been contradicting views of the people of Jammu & Kashmir regarding this decision. The former chief minister Omar Abdullah stated on X “Disappointed but not disheartened. The struggle will continue. The BJP spent decades to reach this point. We are also prepared for the long haul.” The Democratic Progressive Azad Party’s President Ghulam Nabi Azad expresses his disappointment emphasizing the party’s discontent for the verdict.
Contradicting to that, Senior Congress Leader and Maharaja Hari Singh’s son, Karan Singh, gladly welcomed the decision stating that it clarifies the constituted validity of the move. He says “There will be people in Jammu & Kashmir who will not be happy with this decision, my sincere advice is that they should accept the inevitable and they should accept the fact that now this has been done and the Supreme Court has asserted the action and therefore there’s no point in unnecessarily hitting their head against the wall. I recommend redirecting their efforts toward the upcoming elections, fostering motivation in people, rather than cultivating any negativity…”
Moreover, on youtube, local people of Jammu & Kashmir were interviewed by a channel which asked for their opinion regarding the decision of the Supreme Court, the people expressed their content by stating the amendment of Article 370 the condition of Jammu & Kashmir has improved a lot and there has been a rise in tourism as well.
