Supreme Court Directive: J&K Elections by September 30, 2024, Article 370 Ruling

Supreme Court issued a directive on Monday instructing the Election Commission of India to conduct elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir by September 30, 2024. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, alongside Justices Gavai and Surya Kant, delivered the judgment, emphasizing that Article 370 of the Constitution was a temporary provision and affirming the president's authority to revoke it.

The court further validated the decision made in August 2019 to establish the separate Union Territory of Ladakh, distinct from Jammu and Kashmir. Chief Justice Chandrachud underscored that the former state of Jammu and Kashmir does not possess internal sovereignty distinct from other states in the country.

According to the Chief Justice, "all provisions of the Indian Constitution can be applied to Jammu and Kashmir." He declared the exercise of presidential power to issue a constitutional order abrogating Article 370 as valid, reinforcing that Jammu and Kashmir had become an integral part of India, evident from Articles 1 and 370.

Addressing the nature of Article 370, which was abrogated on August 5, 2019, Justice Chandrachud clarified that it was an interim arrangement due to war conditions in the erstwhile state. He highlighted that the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir was never intended to be a permanent body.

The bench, consisting of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices Gavai, Surya Kant, Sanjay Kishan Kaul, and Sanjiv Khanna, commenced the pronouncement of three separate but concurring judgments at 10:56 am. Justices Kaul and Khanna presented their judgments independently.

This development comes after a 16-day hearing on a series of petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370, with the apex court reserving its verdict on September 5. The ongoing pronouncement of the verdict marks a significant milestone in the legal and political landscape concerning Jammu and Kashmir.