Article 370: Indian SC declares IIOJK ‘integral part’ of country

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, according to NDTV.

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.