SC directs restoration of J&K statehood

The Supreme Court on Monday unanimously upheld the Centrersquos decision to abrogate provisions of Article 370 bestowing special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and directed restoration of statehood ldquoat the earliestrdquo as well as assembly elections by September 30 2024Ending a decadeslong debate a fivejudge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud delivered three concurring judgments upholding abrogation of the Constitutional schemes that provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir when it was annexed to the Union of India in 1947Writing the judgment for himself and Justice B R Gavai and Justice Surya Kant the CJI said Article 370 was a temporary provision and the president was empowered to revoke it in the absence of the Constituent Assembly of the erstwhile stateThe Supreme Court verdict is a ldquoresounding declaration of hope progress unity for our sisters and brothers in JampK Ladakhrdquo Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Sanjiv Khanna penned separate and concurring verdicts on the issue The apex court also upheld the validity of the decision to carve out the union territory of Ladakh from Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 2019On that day the government abrogated Article 370 and bifurcated the state into two union territoriesmdashJammu and Kashmir and Ladakh Justice Chandrachud referred to Solicitor General Tushar Mehtarsquos statement that Jammu and Kashmirrsquos statehood will be restored except for the carving out of the Union Territory of LadakhA death sentence Mehbooba MuftiPDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on Monday said the Supreme Courtrsquos decision to uphold Article 370 abrogation is ldquonothing less than a death sentencerdquo adding that it marked the defeat of the idea of India with which the Muslimmajority state had acceded in 1947 ldquoToday an unconstitutional and illegal act that took place in the Parliament was declared legal It is nothing less than a death sentence not only for Jammu and Kashmir but for the idea of Indiardquo Mufti said in a message on XStruggle will continue OmarNational Conference vice president Omar Abdullah on Monday said he is disappointed but not disheartened by the verdict The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said it took the BJP decades to abrogate the provisions of Article 370 ldquoWe are also prepared for the long haulrdquo he said in a post on X ldquoDisappointed but not disheartened The struggle will continuerdquo his post addedSG Tushar Mehta defends SC verdictSolicitor General Tushar Mehta the Centrersquos key counsel in defending the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution said on Monday the Supreme Court verdict will go down in history as the one that corrected a ldquoHimalayan constitutional blunderrdquo of gigantic proportions As the only lawyer involved in the process of abrogation and having led the arguments before the constitution bench of the Supreme Court it is a historic day for him too Mehta saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever