Five major petitioners in Article 370 case have written an open letter to India’s Chief Justice BR Gawai, which requested them to set up a bench to set up a bench and set a concrete time limit for a solid time limit to eradicate the constitutional validity of eliminating the state status of Jammu and Kashmir. The petitioners have also asked for legal safety measures to prevent any government from ending the status of unilateral state of any Indian state.
Signators, former Jammu and Kashmir Dialogue Radha Kumar, former Home Secretary K. Pillai, retired Major General Ashok’s Mehta, retired Air Vice Marshal Kapil Kak and former Inter-State Council Secretary Amitabh Pandey expressed concern that the recently taken place can be used by the Central Government to use the status of the state government for the sake of the promises of the state government.
Turned with a sense of federalism and constitutional justification
Highlighting the assurances given by the Center in Parliament, especially Home Minister Amit Shah, he emphasized that such delay is contrary to the feeling of federalism and constitutional justification. The petitioners spoke to the Chief Justice to take cognizance of their open letter and expedite the judicial review of ending the state status of Jammu and Kashmir. The group is also planning to contact MPs beyond the party line before the upcoming monsoon session, so that the issue can be raised in the House.
He strongly opposed the argument that the delay is fine due to the Pahalgam attack. The letter said, “If there is anything, it is the right time for restoration.” He pointed to peaceful conduct and high voter voting in the October 2024 elections, which gave an absolute majority to the National Conference and presented a clear public mandate for elected rule.
Police’s story of convicting Kashmiris baseless
The letter appreciated the way of keeping themselves away from Pahalgam violence by the local population and the NIA’s decision was pointed out that the story of the previous police who convicted the Kashmiris were baseless. This included a sharp criticism of the administration led by Manoj Sinha to take “unfair punitive action”, including demolishing the houses, which he said that it caused widespread anger.
The signators warned that there is a risk of deteriorating the atmosphere of peace in the valley by keeping the elected representatives out of security and policy discussions along with such actions. He insisted, “The only permanent path to move forward is the restoration of political and civil rights, which come with the status of the entire state.”
Restoration should be done unconditionally
The petitioners also stated that the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly had passed a resolution in support of the state status eight months ago and the Lieutenant Governor sent it to the President, yet no action has been taken despite the warning of the Chief Minister. Criticizing the statement of Solicitor-General’s December 2023, the status of the state will be restored in the stages. The petitioners warned that it sets a dangerous example.
He argued, ‘This approach weakens the constitutional situation that no state can be converted into a union territory. If the designation was unconstitutional, the restoration should be complete and unconditional. This is the first case in the history of India, when a full state was converted into a union territory and argued that it is a violation of the core structure of the Constitution, which maintains the federal nature of India.
Supreme Court did not clearly pronounce the verdict
The petitioners also reminded that the Supreme Court did not clearly give a decision on the constitutional validity of the action, but accepted the assurance of the government that the state status would be restored. The then Chief Justice DY Chandrachud had requested timely action and Justice Sanjay Khanna had directly fallen down in the post as unconstitutional. The letter ends with an immediate appeal for judicial and legislative intervention, so that dignity as the full state of Jammu and Kashmir can be restored and the federal structure of the Indian Constitution can be protected.
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