'Profound, progressive changes' from abrogation of 370, Centre tells SC

The Union government has submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that its 5 August 2019 decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution revoking the special status to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has brought “profound affirmative and progressive changes in the last four years."

The Centre’s affidavit was filed a day before the Supreme Court constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud is set to hear a clutch of more than 20 pleas challenging the abrogation of Article 370, which eventually led to the bifurcation of J&K into two union territories.

The bench will also comprise Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai and Surya Kant. The hearing on July 11 is to issue directions on filing of documents, written submissions and give a date for the hearing to begin. Hearings on arguments are however set to begin only in August. The case is being heard now after March 2020.

In the affidavit, the union home ministry noted that since 2019, the region has witnessed unprecedented era of peace, progress and prosperity. “Life has returned to normalcy after three decades of turmoil. Schools, colleges, universities, hospitals and other public institutions are functioning efficiently without any strikes, or any kind of disturbances in the last three years. The earlier practice of daily strikes, hartals and stone pelting are things of the past now.”

The Home Ministry states that the street violence, engineered and orchestrated by secessionist networks has now become a thing of the past. The organised stone pelting incidents connected with terrorism-separatist agenda has come down to zero in 2023. In addition, resolute anti-terror actions have resulted in dismantling the terror eco-system which is reflected in a significant drop in terrorist recruitment to 12 in 2023 from 199 in 2018.

The ministry states that after the abrogation, the “UTs of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has witnessed profound affirmative and progressive changes in the last four years encompassing its entire governance”.

In the affidavit, it has been claimed that the work on the transit accommodation for Kashmiri Pandits for their safe return to the Valley is in the advanced stage and is expected to be majorly completed in the next one year.

The union government submitted that after the constitutional changes were made, major steps were taken to strengthen grassroots democracy. “For the first time in its history, three-tier panchayati raj system has been established in Jammu and Kashmir. Elections for members for the District Development Councils were held in Jammu and Kashmir in November-December 2020,” said the ministry.

The government noted that after the abrogation, all the provisions of the Constitution were applicable in the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. As a result, certain sections of the society such as West Pakistan refugees, safai-karamcharis, valmikis, displaced person from Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir and children of women who married outside J&K, who “were deprived of their basic rights” are enjoying all their rights. These people are also eligible for government jobs in J&K for which domicile certificates have been issued by the government.

Now, central laws such as Right to Education Act, reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and Juvenvile Justice Act are now applicable in J&K. Earlier, there was no political reservation for people belonging to ST, but now seats have been reserved.

After the abrogation, Kashmiri, Dogri, Urdu, Hindi and English have also been added as official languages. This has fulfilled the demand of a large section of the population, underscores the affidavit.

The affidavit notes that several union government schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, scholarship to tribal students, minimum support price for forest produce and pre and post-matric scholarship to Gujjar and Bakarwal students have been implemented.

The union government’s affidavit was filed in response to the notice sent by the Supreme Court before it would begin hearing the case. It is coming up for the first time since March 2020, when it was heard by a different five-judge bench. The bench had then refused to refer the matter to a larger, seven-judge bench.

The court is expected to examine whether parliament could have scrapped Article 370 without the consent of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and whether its bifurcation into two Union territories was constitutional.

The petitions have argued that scrapping of Article 370 after the imposition of President's Rule through a presidential proclamation is a violation of the democratic rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The President’s Rule was imposed in the state after BJP pulled out of the ruling alliance with Mehbooba Mufti's People's Democratic Party in June 2018.

The hearing in the case had begun in December 2019, four months after the abrogation. Then the five-judge Constitution bench was headed by then Justice NV Ramana and comprised Justices SK Kaul, R Subhash Reddy, BR Gavai and Surya Kant.

In March 2020, the bench declined a plea to the petitions to refer to a larger Bench. Then the bench said it would give a date after considering the schedules of judges on this bench who were also hearing the Sabarimala case. A date was never given