The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly’s recent discussion on restoring statehood has once again brought the region’s constitutional history into focus.
During Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s resolution seeking the immediate restoration of statehood on September 28, some amendments proposed references to Articles 370 and 35A, which were part of the constitutional framework governing Jammu and Kashmir before the changes made in August 2019.
What Was Article 370?
Article 370 laid down the constitutional framework through which the Constitution of India applied to Jammu and Kashmir. Under the original arrangement, Parliament’s legislative powers over the state were limited to matters connected with the Instrument of Accession, principally defence, foreign affairs and communications.
Unlike other states, Jammu and Kashmir also had its own Constitution. The special arrangement developed from the state’s accession to India in 1947 and the subsequent constitutional relationship between Jammu and Kashmir and the Union.
Article 370 provided the mechanism for extending provisions of the Indian Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir through presidential orders. Over the years, a large number of constitutional provisions were extended to the state through this process.
The Supreme Court, in its December 2023 judgment, examined the constitutional history of Article 370 and held that Jammu and Kashmir did not retain separate sovereignty after its accession to India. The court also upheld the constitutional changes that made Article 370 inoperative.
What Changed in August 2019?
On August 5, 2019, the Union government introduced a series of measures that altered the constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir. Presidential Order C.O. 272 applied all provisions of the Constitution of India to the erstwhile state, while a subsequent Presidential Order made Article 370 inoperative.
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, also reorganised the erstwhile state into two Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
The Supreme Court subsequently upheld the 2019 constitutional changes in its December 2023 judgment.
Article 370 is therefore central to understanding the constitutional relationship that existed between Jammu and Kashmir and the Union before August 2019, as well as the legal changes that followed.
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