A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud on Monday upheld the Centre's decision to abrogate Article 370, which bestowed special status on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. Writing the judgement for himself and Justices Gavai and Surya Kant, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said Article 370 of the Constitution was a temporary provision and the president has the power to revoke it. The top court also upheld the validity of the decision to carve out the union territory of Ladakh from Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019. The court directed that steps shall be taken by the Election Commission of India to conduct elections to the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir constituted under Section 14 of the Reorganisation Act by 30 September 2024. Restoration of statehood shall take place at the earliest and as soon as possible, the court said.
