The Supreme Court of India on Monday, December 11, upheld the abrogation of Article 370, which granted special powers to Jammu and Kashmir. The unanimous judgment was passed on a batch of pleas challenging Parliament’s abrogation of Article 370, by a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud.
CJI DY Chandrachud said that Jammu and Kashmir did not retain independent sovereignty after it joined the Union of India in 1947. “J&K surrendered its complete sovereignty with the merger,” observed the CJI, who went on to add that the Jammu and Kashmir constitution was only to further define their relationship with India. “J&K did not have any internal sovereignty either. Its Constitution was subordinate to the Constitution of India,” the CJI said.
The bench, also comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, and Surya Kant, directed the Election Commission of India to take steps to conduct elections.