The Indian Supreme Court made a decision to uphold the 2019 repeal by the Union Government, revoking a special status granted to the regions of Jammu & Kashmir under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. The Court announced Article 370 was a temporary provision and professed it failed to suggest that the states of Jammu and Kashmir should sustain sovereignty after their accession to India.
The court stated that India’s Constitution does not imply that Jammu and Kashmir maintain their sovereign status after becoming integral parts of the country. The court emphasized that while various states in India enjoy legislative and executive powers to varying extents, these are forms of asymmetric federalism and not expressions of sovereignty.
Heading the judgment was the Chief Justice of India, Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud, who stated that the purpose and reason behind the creation of Article 370 can be deduced from the marginal note to Article 370, which implies that the Article was to be a “temporary provision with respect to the State of Jammu and Kashmir.”
The Court proceeded with instructing the Election Commission of India to assure that elections for the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly are held by September 30th next year. Additionally, the Court issued recommendations for the government to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission as a mechanism to address allegations of human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir by state and non-state entities.
Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul endorsed the idea, stating, “A Truth and Reconciliation Commission could facilitate a reparative approach, that enables forgiveness for the wounds of the past and forms the basis of achieving a shared national identity. The Commission needs to be established before memories fade. The exercise needs to be time-bound.”
It is to be recalled that Jammu and Kashmir lost their special status during 2019 when the President executed an order which revoked the region’s constitutional autonomy.
Referenced from original article available at: JURIST – News