Fight for honour and dignity will continue: Mehbooba Mufti on Article 370 decision

New Delhi, Dec 11: As the Supreme Court upheld the Union Government's decision to abrogate Article 370 of the constitution, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and President of Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party (JKPDP), Mehbooba Mufti, said the people of J&K are not going to lose hope or give up.

"Our fight for honour and dignity will continue regardless. This isn't the end of the road for us," she said.

"We should not be disheartened... J&K has seen several ups and downs... SC's verdict stating Article 370 was a temporary provision, is not our defeat, but the defeat of the idea of India... I want to say this to the people of the country that many of you are celebrating this (verdict)... Today J&K was converted into a jail, and all the shopkeepers were directed that they will not open their shops before 10 am. We were under house arrest... This is a political war which has been going on for ages, and a lot of people have sacrificed their lives for this. We will not leave this, we have to come together and fight" the PDP chief added.

Weighing in on the SC ruling on Article 370, National Conference MP Hasnain Masoodi said, "...The question of J&K being divided into two parts and downgraded from a state to a Union Territory (UT) has not been been addressed. Our senior lawyers will review this judgment and see what we've to do..."

A five-judge Constitution bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, and Surya Kant delivered the verdict.

CJI Chandrachud reading out the judgement said that every decision taken by the Centre on behalf of a State under proclamation can't be subject to a legal challenge and it will lead to the administration of the State to a standstill.

Supreme Court said that it has held that Article 370 was a temporary provision.

"The proclamation of Maharaja stated that the Constitution of India will supersede. With this, the para of Instrument of Accession ceases to exist.... Article 370 was an interim arrangement due to war conditions in the State. Textual reading also indicates that Article 370 is a temporary provision," the Court said.

The Court also noted that Article 370 was meant for the constitutional integration of Jammu and Kashmir with the Union and it was not for disintegration and the President can declare that Article 370 ceases to exist.

"Concurrence of the State government was not required to apply all provisions of the Constitution using Article 370(1)(d). So, the President of India taking the concurrence of the Union government was not malafide," the Court noted.

The Supreme Court also directed the Election Commission to hold Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections by September 30, 2024. The Supreme Court said in view of Centre's submission on restoration of statehood of Jammu and Kashmir, it directs that statehood shall be restored as soon as possible.

On August 5, 2019, the central government announced the revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir granted under Article 370 and split the region into two union territories.

On SC verdict on abrogation of Art 370, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that the Centre should conduct now elections in J&K as soon as possible, besides restoring the full statehood status.