New Delhi:
The unanimous verdict on Kashmir was the opinion of five judges and people may have different opinions, Justice (Retd) SK Kaul, who was part of the Constitution Bench that delivered the verdict, told NDTV today.
“I believe that if five judges have reached a unanimous decision, it is at least the opinion of these judges that what was done was correct and in accordance with the law,” he said.
The verdict by the five-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud earlier this month had disappointed many in the Kashmir Valley.
While accepting the court's ruling that Article 370 of the Constitution was temporary in nature and its removal was procedurally correct, many political leaders had said the “fight” would continue.
Justice Kaul, who retired on December 25, said the issues before the court could be broadly divided into two questions: whether Article 370 was a temporary provision and whether Article 370 was a temporary provision and whether Article 370 was a temporary provision and whether the Center had followed the correct legal process.
Whether the “shell” of the “slightly different procedure” used to assimilate Jammu and Kashmir into India should remain or disappear was a political decision, Justice Kaul said.
Now that the decision for full assimilation has been made, this was the “right legal situation,” he said. On the issue of trial, the court made its decision looking at the reality: there was no state assembly at that time and power was vested in the Centre. “People are entitled to a different opinion about it, so what,” he said.
On the question of whether it was a temporary position, all five judges agreed that it was, based on its incorporation and the chapter in which it was created.
When asked how he felt about the situation since he felt the pain of Kashmiri Pandits — the judge is from the erstwhile state — he said it was essential to recognize that “something is wrong”. Citing the South African model, which is not based on retaliation or revenge, but on the recognition of wrongdoing and a system of apology, he said this is what people need to move on.
On December 11, the Supreme Court in a unanimous judgment upheld the Centre's decision to strike down the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution, which had granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
While the court held that the Centre's decision to bifurcate Jammu and Kashmir was valid, it also directed that restoration of statehood should take place at the earliest.