Aspirant Academy

Polity, Governance and Current Affairs

Federalism and Citizenship Developments

Recent Constitutional Developments, Judicial Pronouncements, Constitutional Morality, Transformative Constitutionalism

Paper III · Unit 1 Section 5 of 11 0 PYQs 24 min
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Federalism and Citizenship Developments

4.1 Article 370 Abrogation — In Re: Article 370 (2023)

The Presidential Order (CO 272, August 5, 2019) and the subsequent Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019 abrogated Article 370 (special status for J&K). The state was bifurcated into two Union Territories — J&K (with Legislature) and Ladakh (without Legislature). The 5-judge constitutional bench (unanimous, December 2023) upheld the abrogation.

Key Holdings

  1. Article 370 was a temporary provision (titled as such) — not permanent
  2. The Constitutional Order of 1954 (extending most of the Constitution to J&K) was valid
  3. When President's Rule was imposed under Article 356, Parliament acting as J&K Constituent Assembly could modify or abrogate Article 370
  4. J&K did not retain internal sovereignty — sovereignty was completely ceded to India on accession
  5. Ordered restoration of full statehood to J&K "as soon as possible" and elections by September 2024 (elections held in 2024)

4.2 Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 (CAA)

The CAA amended the Citizenship Act 1955 to provide an expedited path to Indian citizenship for non-Muslim minorities who entered India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan before 31 December 2014 and faced religious persecution. Beneficiary religions: Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians.

Constitutional Challenges (Pending in SC)

  • Discrimination on ground of religion violates Article 14 (reasonable classification — opponents argue the exclusion of Muslims is not intelligible differentia linked to the object)
  • Violation of Article 15 (religion as basis for discrimination)
  • Assam Accord implications

Government's Defence

  • Religious minorities in these three Muslim-majority countries face persecution uniquely
  • This is a remedial law — not denying citizenship to anyone but providing a special pathway
  • Classification is intelligible and has reasonable nexus with the object (protection of persecuted minorities)

Rules notified in March 2024; applications being processed.