The decision on a number of petitions contesting the repeal of Article 370 and the division of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories has been rendered by the Supreme Court's Constitution bench.
The government's decision to suspend Article 370 was affirmed by the highest court, which also ordered that preparations be made to hold assembly elections by September 30, 2013. The restructuring of Ladakh as a Union Territory was also affirmed by the SC. The conflict conditions in the former state made Article 370, which was repealed on August 5, 2019, an interim solution, according to Justice Chandrachud.
Judges Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud made up the five-judge constitution bench that rendered the decision. After hearing the arguments for sixteen days, the supreme court reserved its decision on September 5.
On Monday, the Supreme Court's five-judge Constitution bench unanimously affirmed the legality of the Union government's 2019 decision to repeal Article 370 of the Constitution. According to sources, the government is scheduled to present two measures in Parliament on Tuesday that would allocate 33% of the seats in the assembly of the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry to women. A third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and Assemblies are reserved for women, thanks to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, which was passed by the Parliament in September. In 2029, the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam will be implemented following an identification exercise.
