In a significant legal development, the Supreme Court of India has established a five-member larger bench to deliberate on multiple petitions that question the revocation of Article 370.
The constitutional article once provided special autonomous status to the region of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), which was a pivotal factor in its annexation to India in 1947.
The larger bench, due to take up the case on July 11, is headed by Chief Justice Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud. The bench includes Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice BR Gavai, and Justice Surya Kant.
The Article 370 Revocation
On August 5, 2019, the Indian government hastily executed a presidential decree to abolish Article 370 of the Constitution. This move stirred significant tension in the disputed Himalayan valley, as an unprecedented number of Indian troops were deployed there.
Amit Shah, the Indian home minister then, introduced a resolution to scrap Article 370 in Rajya Sabha, which annulled the special status of occupied Kashmir and reclassified the state as a Union Territory with a legislature.
Pakistan’s then-prime minister condemned New Delhi’s decision, calling it illegal and threatening regional peace and security.
This move permitted individuals from the rest of India to acquire property in the disputed territory and settle there permanently. Kashmiris deemed This action unacceptable and viewed it as a clear infringement of international laws, UN resolutions, and the Indian constitution.
The Constitutional Challenge
More than 20 petitions questioning the constitutional validity of the Indian government’s August 2019 decision to revoke Article 370 have been filed, as reported by the Indian media. The petitions were submitted by Shah Faesal and others, who argue that constitutional provisions were violated in making the decision.
Notably, the case regarding Article 370 has been pending in the Supreme Court for over two years. The case has been dormant since a five-judge bench declined to refer the petitions to a larger bench in March 2020.
Political leaders such as Omar Abdullah, Vice President of the Jammu Kashmir National Conference, and Mehbooba Mufti, President of the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party (JKPDP), have expressed their anticipation for the hearings and their hopes for justice to be delivered to the people of Kashmir.
