In anticipation of the Supreme Court’s verdict supporting the Centre’s move to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370, senior lawyer Kapil Sibal posted that “some battles were fought to be lost.” Sibal represented the petitioners challenging the scrapping of Article 370 in August 2019.
Courts
Some battles are fought to be lost
For history must record the uncomfortable facts for generations to know
The right and wrong of institutional actions will be debated for years to come
History alone is the final arbiter
of the moral compass of historic decisions— Kapil Sibal (@KapilSibal) December 11, 2023
The Supreme Court not only upheld the Centre’s decision to abrogate Article 370 but also emphasised the need to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood as early as possible, calling for elections by September 30 next year. The five-judge bench, led by Chief Justice Chandrachud, also affirmed the validity of creating the union territory of Ladakh.
Petitioners, opposing the repeal of Article 370, argued that the provision couldn’t be scrapped since the Jammu and Kashmir Constituent Assembly’s term, whose approval was necessary, had ended in 1957 after drafting the state’s Constitution.
They contended that with the constituent assembly extinct, Article 370 had acquired permanent status. The Center, however, argued that its choices were compliant with the law, mainstreaming Jammu and Kashmir while lowering terrorism and levelling the playing field.
More than a year after the PDP-BJP coalition government fell, Jammu and Kashmir was divided into two Union Territories as a result of Article 370 being revoked.
