Article 370 can not be touched: J&K court

At a time when Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) backed think tank in New Delhi is calling for striking down of of Constitution with the perception it will dilute the , that gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir, the high court of Jammu and Kashmir described the Article 370, as permanent provision of the Constitution, saying it can not be abrogated, repealed or even amended.

The court said that Article 35A gives protection to existing laws.

In a statement today, senior Congress leader said apart from the legality to which the Hon'ble judges have taken recourse, there are two major factors both constitutional and political, by which this Article has assumed permanence in the Constitution of India.

The aforesaid interpretation of Article 370 was based on the rationale that power had been conferred upon the of 1957 to recommend to the President as to ceasing or modification of operation of the provision.

Hearing a petition - Ashok Kumar and others versus State of J&K and others - Justices Hasnain Masoodi and Janak Raj Kotwal held: "Article 370 is the only provision of the Constitution that applies to the State, on its own".

"The State as on date continues to enjoy autonomy in areas covered by the provisions of Constitution not extended to (it)".

The court also observed that the President under Article 370 (1) is conferred with the power to extend any provision of the Constitution to the state with such "exceptions and modifications" as may be deemed fit subject to consultation or concurrence with the state government.

In a communication, the Home Ministry sought a copy of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court order from the state government as early as possible, explaining the grounds in which the order was issued, official sources said.

Finally, the court struck down the Section 6 of Reservation 2004 which authorizes the Government for providing reservation in promotion, Rule 9 which provides percentage of reservation to various categories and Rule 10 which provides roaster points for reserved category while making promotions.

"One is that once the Article came up for consideration of the State's Constituent Assembly, the last authority to go into this proposition, its verdict became permanent".

The court has observed that Article 370 embodied "conceptual framework of relationship" between union of India and Jammu and Kashmir.