Unconditional merger of Jammu and Kashmir, nature of Article 370 is not permanent; SC’s constitution bench made important remarks.
The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, in its very important remarks, said that the sovereignty of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir was surrendered to India completely and unconditionally in October, 1947.
Therefore it is ‘really difficult’ to say that Article 370, which specifically gave autonomy to the state, was of a permanent nature. The next hearing in the case is on August 16.
Unconditional Merger Of Jammu And Kashmir: What did the constitution bench of five judges say?
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud observed that Article 1 of the Constitution states that India is a union of states, including Jammu and Kashmir.
This is because there was a complete transfer of sovereignty in all respects. Schedule I of the Constitution of India lists the names of states and union territories.
This list contains the extent and jurisdiction of all these including Jammu and Kashmir.
Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai and Surya Kant, who are part of the constitution bench, say that it cannot be said that some elements of sovereignty were maintained in Jammu and Kashmir after the implementation of Article 370.
