By Sabha Khan
The Supreme Court of India on Monday said that Article 370 of the Indian constitution, that provided the special status to Jammu & Kashmir, was a “temporary provision.”
The constitution bench consisting of five-judges headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud while reading out the verdict said that the bench held that all provisions of the Constitution of India can be applied to “J&K using Article 370(1)(d) in one go.
“We do not find the use of Presidential power to issue CO-273 was mala fide. Thus we hold the exercise of Presidential Power to be valid,” the CJI said. “The court cannot sit in appeal over the decision of the President of India on whether the special circumstances under Article 370 exist,” he added.
The court also directed the central government to restore the statehood of the region and conduct assembly elections by “September 30, 2024.”
The verdict left the majority of the people living in the region heartbroken as they were expecting the verdict in their favor.
“When everything else fails in a democracy, we look up to the court. So, there were some expectations from the court. It has let down the people of J&K by giving its final seal and approval to the loss of special privileges that the people enjoyed,” Anuradha Basin, a Kashmir born U.S based journalist in an interview told Article 14 said. “How did they (Constitution Bench) arrive at this conclusion? How did they measure the intentions of the union government? A scrutiny of the events preceding 5 August 2019 would have been enough to show that this is way off the mark. Days before, there was panic in Kashmir. Amarnath pilgrimage was suspended abruptly and tourists were being forcibly packed off and sent back. There was extra deployment of troops and the government allayed the fears of the people by saying that ‘these were routine exercises’ for ‘security reasons’. Is that not an intention to deceive? On the night before 5 August, the Internet and phones were switched off, and the entire political leadership was arrested. Were these not signs of deception?,” she added.
Tight security arrangements were made by the local government to thaw all untoward incidents in the valley.
Two former Chief Ministers of J&K Ms. Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah claimed that they were placed “under house arrest,” though separate posts on X formally known as Twitter. However, J&K Police and Lt. Governor, Manoj Sinaha, termed the statements made by the two veteran politicians as “allegations”.
Local political parties expressed disappointment on the decision and asked people to not lose hope and be determined to take the struggle forward aimed to get their “snatched rights back.”
“Disappointed but not disheartened.” Omar Abdullah said through a micro-blogging site X adding that journalists were not allowed to enter the premises of his house who had visited there for comments.
Mehbooba Mufti said that their struggle for restoration of Article 370 would continue. “It took BJP decades to reach here. We are also prepared for the long haul,” said Mufti. “The Supreme Court has said Article is temporary, which is why it has been scrapped. This isn’t our loss, it is the loss of the idea of India,” she added.
Separatist turned mainstream leader Sajad Lone, in a statement said that justice had yet again eluded the people of J&K. Lone also said that Article 370 may have been legally obliterated but will always remain a part of our political aspirations.
However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the verdict of the Supreme Court. “The verdict today is a beacon of hope and a promise of a brighter future and a testament to build a stronger, more united India # NayaJammukashmir,” Modi wrote on X.
Expressing his happiness over the verdict the Home Minister Amit Shah said that after facing such a defeat (in SC), he would have gone into depression and wouldn’t show up in Parliament for a month at least.
“Look at them (Opposition), they are doing a press conference to say that Article 370 was scrapped through wrong means,” he said. “If you don’t mend your (Opposition) ways, you (seats) will reduce further in next elections and Modi ji will come back to power for a third term,” he added.
Meanwhile, separatist leader and the chairman of Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said that the Supreme Court’s verdict on abrogation of Article 370 was “sad but not unexpected.”
“’Those people who at the time of the Partition facilitated the accession of J&K and reposed their faith in the promises and assurances given to them by the Indian leadership must feel deeply betrayed,” Mirwaiz said. “For the rest, the State as it existed in August 1947 remains divided on the ceasefire line, and hence continues to be a bleeding humanitarian and political issue, begging for redressal,” he added.