Big news coming in from India. The Supreme Court of India is set to deliver its verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the central government’s decision to revoke Article 370 of the constitution. Now, the verdict will be delivered later in the day today. The constitution bench had heard the arguments in the matter for 16 days in September. The revocation of Article 370 of the constitution was a historic but controversial move carried out by the Indian government in August 2019.
Article 370 granted special autonomous status to the region of Jammu and Kashmir, allowing it to have its own constitution, its own flag, and a significant degree of autonomy over internal matters, except defense, communications, and foreign affairs. Now on the fifth of August 2019, the central government, led by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, took a bold step by revoking the special status granted to Jamu and Kashmir under Article 370.
The government also bifurcated the state into two separate Union territories, Jamu and Kashmir, and the second one, Ladakh . While Jamu and Kashmir retained a legislative assembly, Ladakh became a Union territory without a legislature. The revocation of Article 370 triggered a series of legal challenges with petitions filed in the Supreme Court of India questioning the constitutional validity of the government’s actions.
A batch of over 20 petitions filed through senior lawyers submitted that the government misused its brute majority in Parliament to issue executive orders and divide the state of Jamu and Kashmir into the two Union territories. Now, on the other hand, supporters of the move argue that it would pave the way for greater integration of Jamu and Kashmir into the Indian Union, which it belongs to, boost economic development and provide equal rights to all citizens.
Earlier this week, the Loksabha passed the Jamu and Kashmir Reservation Amendment Bill 2023 and the Jamu and Kashmir Reorganization Amendment Bill as well. During the debate on the bill in the Parliament, Indian Union Home Minister, Ahmed Shah, called Article 370, the root cause of terrorism. He added that there was a reduction in cases of terrorism after the article was removed, leading to normalcy in the area.
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