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.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government in August 2019 unilaterally abrogated the special status of the occupied valley and deployed tens of thousands of troops in a bid to ward off protests against the illegal move.
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.
The Indian CJP-led announced the verdict today and held that the occupied territory became an integral part of India “which is evident from Article 1 and 370 of the constitution”.
The top court also upheld the Indian government’s decision to abrogate the disputed region’s semi-autonomous status, stating that the IIOJK “does not have internal sovereignty”.
The Indian Supreme Court also directed the country’s election commission to conduct elections in IIOJK by September 2024.
