The erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir: a constitutional lens to examine In Re: Article 370 of the Constitution

The “special status” accorded to the state of Jammu and Kashmir by Article 370 was abrogated by Constitutional Orders dated 5 August 2019 and 6 August 2019. Post abrogation, Parliament introduced the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act 2019, which reorganized the territories of the erstwhile state into two union territories, thereby stripping the state of its statehood. This case note assesses the procedural trickery adopted to “re-integrate” the state of Jammu and Kashmir into the Indian nation-state. To that end, the case note critically analyses the hands-off approach of the Supreme Court of India in In Re: Article 370 of the Constitution (2023). It examines the judgement in relation to the scope of the President’s power to issue the two Constitutional Orders under Article 370 and the extent of Parliament’s power to reorganize the states’ territories, particularly the transformation of a state into a union territory.