Article 370: Indian SC declares occupied Kashmir ‘integral part' of India

NEW DELHI: The Indian Supreme Court on Monday ruled that Article 370 which guaranteed special status to Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) was a temporary provision and that the occupied territory was an integral part of the country.

The Narendra Modi regime in gross violation of the United Nations resolutions and international law scrapped Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution that granted special autonomous status to Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and imposed military siege in the territory on 5th August 2019.

As a result, the state of more than 12 million people was also split into two federally administered territories.

Subsequently, a batch of petitions challenged the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution and a five-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud heard the matter for 16 days and reserved its verdict on September 5.

While announcing the reserved verdict, Indian SC held that the occupied territory became an integral part of India “which is evident from Article 1 and 370 of the constitution”.

In its judgment, which was reserved in September, the top court said the Occupied Kashmir was an integral part of India, which had not attained internal sovereignty after joining the Union (India).

The Indian Supreme Court also directed the country’s election commission to conduct elections in IIOJK by September 2024.