The Indian Supreme Court on Monday delivered a ruling stating that Article 370, which previously granted special status to Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), was a temporary provision. The Court declared that the occupied territory is an integral part of India.
Under the Narendra Modi regime, in what is seen as a violation of United Nations resolutions and international law, Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution were abolished. These articles provided special autonomous status to IIOJK. The government also imposed a military siege in the territory on August 5, 2019, leading to the state, home to over 12 million people, being split into two federally administered territories.
Following these events, several petitions challenging the revocation of Article 370 were filed. A five-judge bench, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud, heard the matter over 16 days and reserved its verdict on September 5.
The Indian Supreme Court, in its final judgment, upheld that Occupied Kashmir was an integral part of India, as indicated by Articles 1 and 370 of the Constitution. The court also emphasized that Occupied Kashmir had not achieved internal sovereignty after joining the Union of India. Furthermore, the Indian Supreme Court directed the country’s election commission to conduct elections in IIOJK by September 2024.
