Supreme Court of India rejects claim that Article 370 ceased to exist in 1957

The Supreme Court of India termed as “unacceptable” the argument that Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, granting special status to Jammu and Kashmir, ceased to be operative after the state’s own constitution was enacted in 1957. The remarks were made by a five-judge bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud during a hearing on Tuesday. The court pointed to the need to consider the Indian constituent assembly debates and the original intent behind Article 370.

Senior advocate Dinesh Dwivedi, representing intervenor Prem Shankar Jha, had argued that Article 370 ceased to operate or exist following the dissolution of Jammu and Kashmir’s constituent assembly in 1957. This challenge was part of Prem Shankar Jha’s broader opposition to the Centre’s decision to abrogate Article 370 on August 5, 2019. However, the bench refuted this interpretation, stating it would imply that the Constitution of India and its applicability to Jammu and Kashmir would “stand frozen as of January 26, 1957.”

Supreme Court of India debunks assertion that Article 370 lost validity after enactment of Jammu & Kashmir’s constitution in 1957. Photo courtesy of MohitSingh/Wikimedia Commons.

The court bench, which also includes Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, and Surya Kant, confronted Dwivedi, saying, “You are asking us to read what is not there in Article 370.” Justice Kaul further questioned the validity of viewing Article 370 as a “defunct provision,” citing its ongoing presence in the Indian Constitution and subsequent legal interpretations.

In his argument, Dwivedi insisted that the original design of Article 370 was temporary, given that the region was in turmoil when the Article was framed. He argued that all past practices that don’t align with the Constitution cannot justify a provision’s invalidity. However, the court responded that such an assertion contradicted arguments by others who claim that Article 370 acquired a permanent status after the state’s constituent assembly ended its term.

The apex court’s rejection of the claim that Article 370 became non-operational after 1957 has implications for ongoing and future debates about the constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir. The hearing remains inconclusive and is set to continue on Wednesday.

To sum up, the Supreme Court of India has firmly rejected the claim that Article 370 lost its operative status after 1957. This pivotal judgment has rekindled discussions surrounding the constitutional complexities linked with the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, casting a spotlight on the original intent of the framers of the Indian Constitution.