RAS question
Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was:
Correct answer: (C) Made inoperative by a Presidential Order under Article 370(3) in August 2019.
Article 370, which gave Jammu and Kashmir special status, was made inoperative in August 2019 through Presidential action under Article 370(3).
Explanation
Article 370 was rendered inoperative through the constitutional route, not by the Supreme Court or by the 100th Amendment. The decisive step came on 5 August 2019, when the President issued Constitutional Order 272 and the Article 370(3) route was used to make the provision ineffective. The PIB release from the Ministry of Home Affairs supports the route: it lists the Constitution (Application to Jammu & Kashmir) Order, 2019, the resolution for repeal of Article 370 with reference to Article 370(3), and the J&K Reorganisation Bill, 2019. The parallel reorganisation split the former state into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, with a legislature, and Ladakh, without one; the Supreme Court upheld the action in December 2023.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Supreme Court is relevant here only because it upheld the abrogation in December 2023; it did not strike the action down as unconstitutional.
- (B) The PIB release identifies the Article 370(3) resolution and the 2019 Presidential and reorganisation measures, not the 100th Constitutional Amendment, as the route used for the change.
- (D) Article 370 has been rendered inoperative since 5 August 2019, so it cannot be treated as still fully operative.
Concept
This tests the constitutional mechanism used to alter Jammu and Kashmir's status, especially the use of Article 370(3) rather than an ordinary amendment. It recurs in RAS because it connects federalism, Union Territories, Presidential powers and recent constitutional governance.