Article 370: Supreme Court asks Centre for timeframe to restore Jammu and Kashmir statehood

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (August 29) delved into the Article 370 case, raising the crucial question of whether there is a specific timeframe in place for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood. During the proceedings, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta was requested to provide insights on this matter after the lunch break.

The top court's perspective highlighted the possibility of turning an entire state's territory into a Union Territory (UT) based on Clause (a). The judges suggested interpreting Clause (1) with this understanding.

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SG Mehta, representing the government, contended that Article 370(1) allows the Prime Minister and Chief Minister of the state to make changes, alterations, and even opt not to apply certain provisions, as was the case with Article 35A. He emphasized that such discretion is employed to prevent similar events from occurring again.

"I will demonstrate that this is not of a permanent nature, and we intend for Jammu and Kashmir to regain its statehood," SG Mehta asserted, implying that the changes made are not intended to be permanent. He expressed his intention to submit Article 370 for consideration.

The day before, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud commented that the removal of Article 35A from the Indian Constitution in 2019 had "curtailed fundamental rights." This observation was made during the hearing of a petition challenging the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status.

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The bench, comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, and Surya Kant, resumed proceedings on Monday for the eleventh consecutive day. The focus remained on hearing petitions challenging the Centre's decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir's special status by modifying Article 370 and Article 35A.

Back in 2019, Union Home Minister Amit Shah put forward the proposal to abolish Article 370 and Article 35A. Consequently, then-President Ram Nath Kovind issued the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019, effectively extending the provisions of the Indian Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir. This move, as experts noted, aligned the northern state more closely with other states across India.