‘Integration Of J&K Into India, Unquestionable, Was Unquestionable, And Always Will Remain Unquestionable’: Kapil Sibal Argues Before SC In Article 370 Matter

A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, has commenced hearing of the batch of petitions challenging abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution.

The five-judge bench of the Supreme Court will be hearing the matter on a day-to-day basis except for Monday and Friday, which is fixed for miscellaneous matters on which only fresh matters are taken up.

The President’s notification of the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order of 2019 of 5 August, amends Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and does away its 65-year-old predecessor, the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order of 14 May, 1954.

As directed by the CJI, the cause title of the case will read as ‘In Re: Article 370 petitions’ and will not include any of the petitioner.

In an unprecedented move, the CJI also apprised that the live-transcript of the proceedings will be made available by the end of the day.

Senior Advocate, Kapil Sibal commenced arguments for the petitioners. Sibal submitted that this is a historic moment as the Supreme Court is hearing the matter after five years, and there has been no representative government in Jammu and Kashmir.

He stringently argued that the court will examine the history to determine whether the procedure adopted by the Parliament was consistent with what democracy stands for and if the will of the people of Jammu and Kashmir can be silenced.

Sibal argued that court has to decide whether the Governor of a state could have kept the Assembly under suspension before the imposition of Article 356 of the Constitution.

He submitted that integration of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) into India, ‘is unquestionable, was unquestionable, and always will remain unquestionable’.

He stated that the argument that the Constitution of India was always applicable to the J&K is nothing but the fact that over time several orders were issued which were incorporated into the J&K Constitution and therefore powers are similar to the Constitution of India.

He also argued that the Constitution is itself a political document and the Constituent Assembly stands for enacting the Constitution keeping in mind the aspirations of the people.

He also contended that the parliament cannot declare itself to the be legislature of J&K and Article 354 of the Constitution does not authorise such an exercise of power.

Reading Maharaja Hari Singh’s letter to Lord Mountbatten in the wake of Pakistan’s invasion of J&K in 1947, he stated that Hari Singh did not have a choice considering the dire circumstances that he would never accede to.