India’s top court upholds Kashmir’s loss of special status in ruling hailed by Modi

New Delhi CNN —

India’s top court on Monday upheld the government’s controversial 2019 decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, also ruling that the disputed Muslim-majority territory should regain its state designation with local elections to be held next year.

In the Supreme Court judgment, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said the “restoration of statehood shall take place at the earliest and as soon as possible,” as he directed the country’s Election Commission to hold polls in Jammu and Kashmir by the end of September 2024.

Claimed in its entirety by both India and Pakistan, the mountainous Kashmir region has been at the epicenter of an often-violent territorial struggle between the nuclear-armed neighbors for more than 70 years. The region is one of the world’s most dangerous flashpoints, and a de facto border called the Line of Control divides the areas overseen by New Delhi and Islamabad.

Four years ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) scrapped Article 370, a constitutional provision that granted special status to the former state, including the power to have its own constitution, flag and autonomy over all matters, save for certain policy areas such as foreign affairs and defense.

Just days later, India’s parliament voted to split Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories, a highly contentious move that gave New Delhi greater control over the disputed region.

Meanwhile, the remote mountainous region of Ladakh, previously a part of Jammu and Kashmir, was turned into a standalone territory. Parts of the disputed region are claimed by both India and China.

The reclassification of Ladakh was also upheld, the Supreme Court said Monday.