Jammu & Kashmir : SC shows the Mirror

Supreme Court’s historical verdict on SARFAESHI has nullified the fraudulent concept of state sovereignty of J&K propogated by the votaries of separatism

Deepak Zazia from Srinagar
The “pith and substance” of the Supreme Court Judgment on Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act, 2002 is that ‘Article 370 is no more’. Social media is flooded with this post as separatist groups and leaders of some other Kashmir centric parties were shocked after Apex Court’s historical judgment that “J&K has no vestige of sovereignty outside the Constitution of India”.

While the nationalist forces have hailed this historic verdict, National Conference president Omar Abdullah echoed with separatist groups to target Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for, what he alleged, surrendering the special status of the J&K.
These leaders have reasons to react because their malicious campaign has been exposed with this verdict of Supreme Court and now it was difficult for them to hoodwink the gullible people in the name of the so-called separate constitution or “Kashmiri nationalism”.
The consistent and vicious feeding to public particularly
in Kashmir of Separatists and even some
mainstream political forces about Kashmiri Nationalism and attributes of sovereignty of State has been laid to rest by authoritative pronouncement by Supreme Court that there are no vestiges of sovereignty in
the state. This landmark judgment has taken turf from under feet of ideology of Separate identity of Kashmir.
“The PDP-BJP government must come clean on its stand on this vital issue that could have far reaching implications for the state,” Omar reacted after the verdict.
Supreme Court’s verdict has also exposed duplicity of the separatist leaders who usually speaks about rule of law whenever the issue of giving fundamentalist rights to helpless West Pakistani refugees comes but after this verdict they are undermining importance of Supreme Court in J&K.
JKLF leader Yasin Malik said that Jammu & Kashmir is an internationally accepted dispute and no Parliament and Court can change it. While reacting to the Supreme Court’s verdict Malik said that no Parliament or court can change the disputed status of the territory by passing any law or verdict. Ironically it was same Yasin Malik who outside Kashmir always trying to project himself as law obeying person who believe in peace and equality.
After losing power in 2014 Assembly elections, Dr Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah have started pursuing soft-separatism so Omar was quick to react after Supreme Court’s verdict. Omar rake with issue by targeting arch rival PDP for making a “weak legal defence” of the state’s special status and termed it “alarming”.
Omar also accused the state government of “deliberate callousness”. “(It) indicated the tacit connivance of the PDP in allowing the step-by-step erosion of Article 370 through a series of politically patronised cases and
litigation,” he said.
Omar referred to the recent instance of the “bleak surrender by the state government’s counsel in defending the position of the state viz-a-viz the Enforcement of Security Interest Act, enacted by Parliament in 2002 and its implications on the state’s special constitutional character”.
He asked the PDP-BJP coalition government to “come clean on its stand on this vital issue that could have far-reaching implications for the state”. “The Special Leave Petition challenging the verdict of the Division Bench of the J&K High Court was filed with the required notice being issued to the state government in February,” he said. “The appeal was argued in the honourable Supreme Court by none less than the Attorney General for India, the top law officer of the Union Government. In light of this, two pertinent questions need to be answered by the PDP and its alliance government in the state,” he said.
Omar questioned as to why the Central government was using the “judicial route to subvert certain attributes of the state’s constitutional character” despite the PDP being its ally.
The second question, Omar raised, was why did the state government “fail to come up with an appropriate and serious response considering the
sensitivity of this issue”?
“The recent judgment of the Supreme Court on SARFAESI Act lays down in categorical terms what is legal and factual position of Jammu and Kashmir as a constituent unit of India. It has conclusively held that there is no concept of partially sovereignty of Jammu & Kashmir State and that attributes of sovereignty are exclusively vested with India, chief spokesman of J&K BJP, Sunil Sethi observed.
Sunil Sethi called upon all political forces and citizens to show respect to judgment and be united under flag
of Nationalism that is India. Game plan of separatists and their supporters including new political friends stands exposed before public and are now
trying to make illogical and unreasonable efforts of speaking against judgment or efforts of State in
projecting cause before Supreme Court.
He said Jammu & Kashmir is a proud part of India and Constitution of State as well as Constitution of India declare that in clear terms. Pleading cause of limited accession is turning blind eye to reality. Instrument of Accession signed by Maharaja of Jammu & Kashmir was exactly same as was signed by other states. Illegality was committed by so called Delhi Agreement between Nehru and Sheikh and its aftermath which is historic blunder which has put state in all its present day problems.
Former Law Minister and National Conference leader, Ali Mohammad Sagar said “Such decision is bound to weaken the Article 370”.
“Under Article 370 Jammu & Kashmir enjoys “Special Status” within constitution of India. Article 370 is
subservient to Indian Constitution. So it is clarified that Jammu & Kashmir enjoy special status within the
Constitution of India and is not sovereign in itself,” he added.
Sagar said that the state government has failed to defend the case in Supreme Court. “What could be Sluggishness of the current regime as the Advocate General of the government who was bound to ensure his presence during the plea of the case was absent,” he said. “I believe that the government has done this job intentionally. The government didn’t defend the case the way they should have, which is unfortunate,” he said, adding that if the State Government is serious over the matter then they must take steps in this regard immediately.
While referring to the SC verdict, Sagar said that the judgment given by the division Bench of SC is totally
disappointing as it is an attempt to erode the Article 370 in the state.
“The SC verdict is violation of Article 370. The State Government is responsible over such happening. One among the coalition partners (BJP) is against Article 370 and now the government is taking judicial route to erode Article 370,” he accused.
Another separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah rejected the Supreme Court assertion that Jammu & Kashmir state has “no vestige of sovereignty outside the Constitution of India” saying the “verdict” neither holds any meaning nor can it change the disputed status of the state. Shah said a few people in courts and parliaments cannot make the political decisions of nations. He said only the people of Jammu & Kashmir have the right to decide the political future of the state.
“By such moves, India wants to create confusion among masses but it must bear in mind that few judges of particular mind set cannot decide the future of 13 million people of the state,” he said. Shah said in 1994, the Indian Parliament passed a resolution regarding Jammu Kashmir but the world community neither acknowledged it nor bothered to express its viewpoint over the issue.
“The people of Jammu & Kashmir have time and again proved that they don’t acknowledge anyone’s
supremacy or opinion that affects the internationally accepted disputed nature of the State but will continue their struggle for right to self- determination,” he said.