On 11th December (Monday), the five-judge Constitutional bench of the Supreme Court upheld the Center’s decision to abrogate Article 370. Chief Justice of India Justice DY Chandrachud, Justices BR Gavai, and Surya Kant gave a joint judgment, while Justices Sanjeev Khanna and Sanjay Kishan Kaul authored separate but concurrent judgments.
The apex court in its verdict held that the challenge to the proclamation of the presidential rule was not valid and that Article 370 was a temporary provision among others. In his judgment, CJI Chandrachud held that Jammu and Kashmir does not hold any internal sovereignty after accession to the Union of India. A detailed report of the Supreme Court verdict in this case can be read here.
Brief profile of the Justices comprising the 5-judge Constitutional bench that delivered this landmark verdict
- Justice DY Chandrachud is currently the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India, the master of the roaster, and the first among equals.
Justice Chandrachud was born on 11th November 1959 in Mumbai. His father Yashwant Vishnu Chandrachud (YV Chandrachud) served as the 16th and longest-serving CJI. His father held the top post in India’s apex court from 22nd February 1978 to 11th July 1985.
DY Chandrachud completed his BA (Economics Honors) from St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi. He did his LLB from Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi in 1982. He then secured an LLM degree and Doctorate of Juridical Sciences (SJD) from Harvard Law School, USA in 1986.
He practiced law at the Supreme Court of India and the Bombay High Court. In June 1998, he was designated as a Senior Advocate by the Bombay High Court. From 1998 until he was appointed a Judge, he was the Additional Solicitor General of India.
On 29th March 2000, he assumed the role of Additional Judge at the Bombay High Court. Subsequently, on 31st October 2013, he took the oath as the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court. Later, on 13th May 2016, he was elevated to the Supreme Court of India. He is slated to retire as the CJI on 10 November 2024 attaining the retirement age of 65 years.
- Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul – (Born on 26th December 1958), Justice Kaul is the second most senior judge of the Supreme Court and hails from a Kashmiri family. He did his schooling at Modern School, New Delhi till 1976 and graduated from St. Stephen’s College in 1979.
He secured his LL.B. Degree from The Campus Law Centre, Delhi University in 1982. He remained Advocate-on-Record of the Supreme Court of India from 1987 to 1999 and was designated as a Senior Advocate in December 1999.
On 3rd May 2001, he was elevated to Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court and appointed as a permanent judge on 2nd May 2003. In 2013, he became the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court.
A year later on 26th July 2014, he assumed the duty of the Chief Justice of Madras High Court. Afterward, on 17th February 2017, he was appointed as a judge in the Supreme Court.
- Justice Sanjeev Khanna – (Born on 14th May 1960) Justice Sanjeev Khanna completed his schooling at the prestigious Modern School of Delhi. He studied law at the Campus Law Center of Delhi University. After graduation, he enrolled as an advocate with the Delhi Bar Council in 1983.
As an Additional Public Prosecutor in the Delhi High Court, he argued several criminal cases and was appointed by the Court as Amicus Curiae. For about seven years, he worked as Senior Standing Counsel of the Income Tax Department in the Delhi High Court.
In 2005, he was elevated as an Additional judge of the Delhi High Court and was made a permanent judge in 2006. He has been a Supreme Court judge since 18th January 2019 and is scheduled to retire on 13th May 2025.
- Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai – He was born on 24th November 1960 in Amravati. Justice Gavai joined the Bar on 16th March 1985. He worked with former Advocate General and High Court judge Raja Bhosle until 1987.
From 1987 to 1990, he practiced independently in the Bombay High Court. After 1990, he practiced mainly before the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court.
On 17th January 2000, he was appointed as Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor for the Nagpur Bench. Subsequently, on 12th November 2005, he became a permanent judge of the Bombay High Court. He was then elevated as Judge of the Supreme Court of India on 24th May 2019 and is scheduled to retire on 23rd November 2025.
- Justice Surya Kant – He was born on 10th February 1962 in a middle-class family in Hisar (Haryana). Justice Surya Kant graduated from Government Post Graduate College, Hisar in 1981.
He obtained his Bachelor of Laws degree from Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak in 1984. He then practiced law in the District Court, Hisar from 1984. He shifted to Chandigarh in 1985 to practice in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Later on 7th July 2000, he became the youngest Advocate General of Haryana to be appointed to that post. In March 2001, he was designated as a senior advocate.
He was the Advocate General of Haryana before becoming a permanent judge at the Punjab and Haryana High Court in January 2004. Later, on 5th October 2018, he was appointed as the Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court. He became a judge in the Supreme Court of India on 24th May 2019 and is scheduled to retire on 9th February 2027.
In 1954, Article 35A was introduced under Article 370, empowering the Jammu and Kashmir government to define permanent residents. The said article, which has now been revoked alongside Article 370, prohibited individuals outside the state from establishing permanent residence, buying land, or holding certain positions in government offices.
Following the abrogation of Article 370, two Union Territories named Jammu and Kashmir (with a legislative body) and Ladakh (without a legislative body) were created. As assembly elections have not taken place in either of the UTs, they are currently being administered by Centre-appointed lieutenant governors.
In May 2022, the Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation Commission redefined electoral boundaries, names, and the number of assembly seats. Delimitation is a precursor to future assembly elections. Reserved seats for scheduled tribes and representation for Kashmiri migrant communities were introduced alongside the delimitation process.
Furthermore, following the abrogation of Article 370, elections in Jammu and Kashmir opened for those who settled in the region and were previously deemed as “outsiders”. This inclusive move allowed West Pakistan refugees residing in the UT for 70 years to participate actively in the local elections.
The socio-political landscape of the region has changed extensively over the past four years. Almost zero incidents of stone pelting, paced-up infrastructure, and introduction of government schemes in the region are some of the examples of changes brought to J&K following the abrogation.
