The decision to revoke Article 370 of the Constitution of India, which conferred a degree of self-governance to the territory of Jammu and Kashmir, was a constitutional and political decision. On August 5, 2019, the Government of India, through a Presidential Order (C.O. 272) and a resolution in Parliament revoked Article 370 taking away the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

Article 370 let Jammu and Kashmir have its own constitution and control all affairs concerning the state apart from few important ones such as defense, external affairs, and communications. The abrogation was done by exercising the powers under Article 370 (3) whereby the President could adapt or suspend the operation of Article 370 with the consent of the state’s constituent assembly. Since the dissolution of the Jammu and Kashmir Constituent Assembly in 1957, the Government contended that the powers of the Constituent Assembly were invested in the Jammu and Kashmir State Legislative Assembly and subsequently in the Parliament because of lack of state assembly.

Even Article 367 that concerns the interpretation of the Constitution was also changed in order to enable the abrogation. This amendment reinterpreted the terms used in Article 370, allowing the President to act without the concurrence of the Jammu and Kashmir government, thereby enabling the revocation of the state’s special status and its reorganization into two Union Territories: Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh.