J-K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday welcomed the Supreme Court’s observation that Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which grants a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, is not a temporary provision.
Welcoming the observation of the apex court, Mehbooba tweeted: “While Article 370 safeguards the territorial integrity of J&K, it plays a bigger role safeguarding the religious, cultural & linguistic integrity of our state. The Hon’ble Supreme Court’s observation regarding its permanent status is a welcome assurance to our people.”
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said Article 370 of the Constitution, conferring special status on Jammu and Kashmir and limiting the Central government’s power to make laws for the state, had acquired permanent status through years of existence, making its abrogation impossible.
The observation came from a bench of Justices Adarsh K Goel and R F Nariman on a petition by Kumari Vijayalakshmi Jha, who sought a declaration that Article 370 was a temporary provision that lapsed with the dissolution of the J&K Constituent Assembly on 26 January 1957. She also sought a declaration that the constitution of J-K was void, inoperative and in breach of the Constitution.
The apex court’s observation is expected to clear the apprehensions particularly among the people in Kashmir valley about the fate of the Constitutional provision.
A lot of political heat was generated some time back in J-K when the opposition parties accused Mehbooba of trying to erode the Articles 370 and 35A for abolition of which a PIL was filed in the Supreme Court by a NGO.