Abrogation of Article 370: Legal Issues and Constitutional Perspective

Abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India on 5th August 2019 is among the most significant constitutional interventions made by the Indian Republic since its independence. Abrogation of this provision by a combination of a Presidential order under Article 370(1), reinterpretation of Article 367, and a Statutory Resolution passed by the Parliament functioning as the State legislature in President's Rule led to the termination of the special status conferred by Article 370 on the former State of Jammu and Kashmir, with the reorganization of the State into two Union Territories through the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. This paper attempts to conduct a doctrinal analysis of legal and constitutional aspects pertaining to this abrogation, focusing on the historical background of Article 370, the constitutional means used to remove this provision and the Supreme Court's historic decision in In Re: Article 370 of the Constitution (2023). The paper also looks at this abrogation in the context of federalism, asymmetric federalism and the basic structure doctrine, and ends with a critique of the constitutional consequences of this decision.