[dropcap]T[/dropcap]HE President of India Ram Nath Kovind today issued an order ‘The Constitution (Application To Jammu And Kashmir) Order, 2019’ which in effect makes Article 370, which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir, redundant.
The order has been issued by the President in exercise of the power vested in him under Article 370(1) of the Constitution of India. The order reads as follows:
“…..2. All the provisions of the Constitution, as amended from time to time, shall apply in relation to the State of Jammu and Kashmir and the exceptions and modifications subject to which they shall so apply shall be as follows: To article 367, there shall be added the following clause, namely: (4) For the purposes of this Constitution as it applies in relation to the State of Jammu and Kashmir
(a) references to this Constitution or to the provisions thereof shall be construed as references to the Constitution or the provisions thereof as applied in relation to the said State:
(b) references to the person for the time being recognized by the President on the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly of the State as the Sadar-i-Riyasat of Jammu and Kashmir, acting on the advice of the Council of Ministers of the State for the time being in office, shall be construed as references to the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir:
(c) references to the Government of the said State shall be construed as including references to the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir acting on the advice of his Council of Ministers, and
(d) in the proviso to clause (3) of Article 370 of this Constitution, the expression “Constituent Assembly of the State referred to in clause (2)” shall read “Legislative Assembly of the State”.
The Union Home Minister Amit Shah had today moved a resolution in Rajya Sabha to this effect, which reads as follows-
“That this House recommends the following public notification to be issued by the President of India under Article 370 (3):
‘In exercise of the powers conferred by Clause (3) of Article 370 read with clause (1) of article 370 of the Constitution of India, the President, on the recommendation of the Parliament, is pleased to declare that, as from 5th of August, 2019, all clauses of the said article 370 shall cease to be operative except clause (1) thereof which shall read as under, namely:
“All provisions of this Constitution, as amended from time to time, without any modifications or exceptions, shall apply to the State of Jammu and Kashmir notwithstanding anything contrary contained in article 152 or article 308 or any other article of this Constitution or any other provision of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir or any law, document, judgement, ordinance, order, byelaw, rule, regulation, notification, custom or usage having the force of law in the territory of India, or any other instrument, treaty or agreement as envisaged under article 363 or otherwise.”
Apart from the above, the resolution also stated that the “President of India has referred the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019 to this House (Rajya Sabha) under the proviso to Article 3 of the Constitution of India for its views as this House is vested with the powers of the State Legislature of Jammu and Kashmir, as per proclamation of the President of India dated 19th December, 2018. This House resolves to express the view to accept the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019.“
Home Minister Amit Shah accordingly moved ‘The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019’ which provides for proposing to make Ladakh a Union Territory (without Legislature) and Jammu & Kashmir a separate Union Territory (with Legislature).
The Presidential Order:
JUST IN: President of India Ram Nath Kovind has signed off 'The Constitution (Application to Jammu & Kashmir) Order, 2019#Kashmir pic.twitter.com/v1DRUyjcW3
— The Leaflet (@TheLeaflet_in) August 5, 2019
