Article 370 Case : Live Updates From Supreme Court [Day 8]

CJI: If Art 370 ceases to operate and Art 1 continues to operate - J&K is an integral part of India. Surely, the jurisdiction of every democratically elected institution is not excluded in... There has to be then a provision in Indian constitution which excludes its app to J&K.

CJI: The net consequence would be that the Constitution of India in its application to J&K would stand frozen as of 1957. Therefore, no further development in Indian constitution can at all apply to J&K according to you. How can that be accepted?

Dwivedi: They're made till life time of a state or a nation. They can't be made for a day. They can't be seen as an interim measure.

Dwivedi: I don't feel there would be any adverse consequences. That was the intent of the framers. They felt that Kashmiris may feel differently but they never imposed that. Still they allowed to make a constitution. Constitutions aren't made for a day.

Justice Kaul: As it has inadvertently remained on the statute, I feel very strongly about 370...I am putting to you the consequences of what would happen were you to accept what you're saying.

Dwivedi: Debates indicate the intention behind 370 and scope of 370.

Justice Kaul: I thought you said that 370 didn't exist. That it should be read in a manner that 370 was intended to dissolve itself after Constituent Assembly completing.

Justice Kaul: It's a little difficult to accept...that the Constituent Assembly debates amounted to an assurance that 370 dissolved itself...

Justice Kaul: We read an intent based on debates. How it transpired and worked out after that- what about that?

Dwivedi: Any amount of illegality of actions taken thereafter cannot justify the validity.

Dwivedi: We may not like it but all I'm showing is the intent. And can Article 370 be divorced from the intent?

CJI: After the Constituent Assembly took its decision in 1957, the dominion of India would have no power to apply any provisions of the Constitution?

Dwivedi: They would have all entries under the Union. I am not here to judge whether they were right or not, I'm telling you what intent can be culled out from the debates.