Article 370 and Jammu and Kashmir

Article 370 was a temporary provision that created a special constitutional mechanism for applying the Constitution of India to Jammu and Kashmir. Instead of applying every provision automatically, it made the President, consultation or concurrence of the State government, and in one context the State's Constituent Assembly, central to the process.

Constitutional gateway

Under Article 370(1)(c), Article 1 and Article 370 applied directly to Jammu and Kashmir. Other constitutional provisions could be extended by a Presidential Order under Article 370(1)(d), subject to specified exceptions and modifications.

• For provisions concerning subjects covered by the Instrument of Accession, the President was required to consult the State government.
• For provisions concerning other subjects, the President required the concurrence of the State government.

Regulation of Parliament's legislative power

Under Article 370(1)(b), Parliament's power over Jammu and Kashmir was initially linked to the Union and Concurrent List subjects specified in the Instrument of Accession. Other Union or Concurrent List subjects could be added through a Presidential Order with the State government's concurrence.

• If concurrence was given before the State's Constituent Assembly was convened, Article 370(2) required it to be placed before that Assembly for its decision.
• Successive Presidential Orders gradually extended most provisions of the Constitution and Union laws to the State, often with adaptations.

Presidential Orders and cessation

The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954 became the principal instrument for extending constitutional provisions with exceptions and modifications. Under Article 370(3), the President could declare Article 370 inoperative or operative with modifications, but the original text required the recommendation of the State's Constituent Assembly.

• In 2019, Presidential Orders applied all provisions of the Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir and rendered the earlier special arrangement under Article 370 inoperative.
• The Supreme Court in In Re: Article 370 of the Constitution, 2023 upheld the constitutional outcome of the 2019 action.

How UPSC asks this