SC Upholds Abrogation of Article 370 and Creation of Ladakh as a Separate Union Territory

The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the presidential proclamation of 2019 abrogating Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

In a unanimous verdict, the five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court said Article 370 was a temporary feature and the President had the power to abrogate it as there was no “mala fide”.

The top court also directed the Central Government to hold Assembly elections in J&K by September 30, 2024.

The bench, led by Chief Justice Constitution of India D Y Chandrachud, said the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution ceased to exist after the presidential proclamation in August 2019.

The apex judiciary also upheld the Centre’s decision to carve out Ladakh as a separate Union Territory from Jammu and Kashmir. The SC verdict came on a batch of petitions that challenged the Central government’s 2019 move to abrogate Article 370, thereby ending the special status conferred to the erstwhile state.

The Centre had also passed in parliament The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, bifurcating the then state into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

The bench, also comprising justices S K Kaul, Sanjeev Khanna, B R Gavai and Surya Kant had reserved its verdict in the matter on September 5.