ARTICLE 370 (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Polity)
Context: The Prime Minister of India said that the Supreme Court’s verdict on the abrogation of Article 370 is historic and constitutionally upholds the decision taken by the Parliament of India on 5th August 2019.
Article 370 and its Removal
- Background: The Constituent Assembly of Jammu & Kashmir (through Article 370) was empowered to recommend which articles of the Indian Constitution should apply to the state.
oClause 3 of the article 370 gives the President of India the power to amend its provisions and scope.
- Removal of Article 370:
oAmendments were made to make applicable the entirety of India’s Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
oIt was done when the State was under President’s Rule with no elected Legislative Assembly in place.
oIn 2019, the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order 2019, issued by the President, withdrew the special status of J&K and extended all provisions of the Indian Constitution to J&K.
oThe J&K (Reorganisation) Act 2019 bifurcated J&K into two UTs - J&K was an UT with a Legislative Assembly; Ladakh was without an Assembly.
Supreme Court ruling
- On temporary nature of Article 370:
oIt was intended as an interim arrangement until the Constituent Assembly of the State was formed since in the interim, and
oThe provision was adopted because of the special circumstances in the state, which was experiencing war conditions.
