SC to pronounce verdict on Monday on pleas challenging abrogation of Article 370

Supreme Court/ File Photo

The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the legality of the Centre's decision to repeal Article 370, which conferred special status to the former state of Jammu and Kashmir, on Monday, stated a report in PTI.

The report cited the top court's website, the ruling will be announced by a five-judge Constitution bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud. The bench includes Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, and Surya Kant.

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After a 16-day hearing, the Supreme Court reserved its decision on September 5, after hearing arguments from several parties. Senior advocates, including Attorney General R Venkataramani, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, and senior advocates, backed the Centre's decision, while top advocates for the petitioners gave opposing reasons, the report added.

According to the report, the constitutional legality of the Article 370 revocation, the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act of 2019, the installation of the governor's and president's control, and the separation of the state into two Union territories were all discussed.

In 2019, the Constitution Bench heard petitions contesting the repeal of Article 370 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act. The hearings started on August 2, the report added.

During the hearing, critical questions were raised about the absence of a constituent assembly in Jammu and Kashmir to suggest the repeal of Article 370. Furthermore, the Court contemplated the transition of Article 370 from a temporary to a permanent provision following the conclusion of the Jammu and Kashmir Constituent Assembly in 1957, the PTI report stated.

The PTI report added that the opponents of the repealing of Article 370 maintained that the provision's repeal was illegal since the constituent Assembly had ceased to exist after adopting the state's Constitution in 1957, rendering Article 370 permanent.

The Centre, on the other hand, justified its conduct, claiming that there was no constitutional violation in withdrawing Article 370, which granted special status to the former state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Abrogation of Article 370

Article 370 was an important provision in the Indian Constitution that granted a special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir and its repealing represented a watershed moment in India's constitutional history. The Indian government abolished this article on August 5, 2019, depriving the area of its autonomy and merging it more closely with the rest of the country.

The decision sparked extensive debate and differing perspectives across the country, with supporters applauding it as a step towards greater national unity and growth and critics raising worries about potential ramifications for the region's identity, autonomy, and citizens' rights. The decision's impact on the region's political, social, and legal landscape is still being debated and analysed in India and globally.