DailyBrief: Supreme Court upholds abrogation of Article 370; And, "secret MEA memo" allegedly linked to deaths of Khalistani terrorists

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Market Watch

• Indian benchmark indices hit fresh milestones today with the Sensex going past 70,000 for the first time and the Nifty hitting a new high of 21,026.10.
• At close, the Sensex was up 102.93 points at 69,928.53, and the Nifty was up 27.70 points at 20,997.10.
• Sectorally, PSU bank, FMCG, Capital Goods, Power, Metal and realty were up 0.5-1%, while the Pharma index was down 0.4%.

Supreme Court upholds abrogation of Article 370

The Supreme Court of India has upheld the abrogation of Article 370, which had accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir and has asked the EC to hold elections in the state by September. The court also upheld the reorganisation of Ladakh as a Union Territory.

Article 370, the short version: Article 370 of the Indian constitution was a provision that granted special status to the region of Jammu and Kashmir which allowed it to have its own constitution and its own policies (except in defence and foreign policy).

• It was drafted in Part XXI of the Indian constitution, titled "Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions", which is what the current judgement relied on, while upholding its abrogation.

The details: The CJI said, “We hold that Article 370 is a temporary provision. It was introduced to serve transitional purposes during an interim process. It was for a temporary purpose because of war conditions in the state. Textual reading also shows it is a temporary provision and thus it was placed in Part 21 of the Constitution”

• “J&K surrendered sovereignty to people of India when Instrument of accession was signed.”
• The bench comprising Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai and Surya Kant delivered a Unanimous verdict.
• Justice Kaul directed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to probe human rights violations by state and non-state actors since the 1980s.

The intrigue: Ahead of the verdict, Kapil Sibal one of the lawyers from the petitioners' side had shared this which many have perceived as accepting defeat.

• The responses were mixed, with overwhelming support pouring in from the BJP, a muted response from the Congress, and negative responses from Kashmiri politicians.

PM Modi:

Amit Shah:

Omar Abdullah, National Conference (NC) vice president:

Ghulam Nabi Azad, former CM of J&K:

Mehbooba Mufti, People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief:

The petitions and the judgement: A five-judge Constitution bench headed by CJI Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud pronounced the verdict after hearing the case for 16 days, a matter that was previously dormant since March 2020.

• When the petitioners proposed a referendum, the bench led by CJI Chandrachud rejected the idea, stating that any referendum in India must adhere to established institutions and is not provided for in the Constitution.?

Pic du jour

This epic ad for a dating app in Pakistan.

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A “secret MEA memo”: Fresh allegations against India over deaths of Khalistani terrorists

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs has dismissed a report by The Intercept alleging a secret memo targeting Sikh separatists as unfounded and deceitful.

The context: The Intercept reported that India was targeting Sikh separatists with a “sophisticated crackdown scheme” in the West. “Concrete measures shall be adopted to hold the suspects accountable,” the memo allegedly says, and Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Nijjar was reportedly murdered in Vancouver just two months after being named as a target in the document.

• The report goes on to mention The Intercept's previous reportage regarding the alleged “Indian death squads” deployed to kill these targets.

The details:?India's External Affairs Ministry spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi, says the report is entirely untrue and is part of a campaign to spread false information about India.

• Bagchi called attention to the outlet's history of disseminating false narratives believed to be sourced from Pakistani intelligence, indicating a deliberate attempt to malign India's image.
• The MEA spokesperson warned against the credibility damage faced by individuals and entities who choose to propagate such misleading news.

The intrigue: While the allegations regarding Nijjar, and the alleged plot to assassinate Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun can be dismissed as being purely circumstantial, the spate of killings of terrorists inside Pakistan, is far more intriguing.

• As of October 2023, at least 16 terrorists associated with various terror outfits were shot dead by unknown gunmen in Pakistan, and authorities are yet to figure out who is behind it all.

ICYMI

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