Anupam Kher on court upholding abrogation of Article 370

Veteran actor Anupam Kher has hailed the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the abrogation of Article 370.

Taking to Instagram, Kher shared a still from the film where he was seen holding a board with "Remove Article 370" written on it.

Sharing the still, he wrote, "#PushkarNath would've been the happiest person today with the #SupremeCourt verdict about #Article370. But I am sure he will be smiling from up there somewhere. sc kii jiit! Jai Hind! "

Kher played the role of Pushkar Nath Pandit in The Kashmir Files and received appreciation for his power-packed performance.

The actor's character in the movie was named after his late father, Pushkar Nath.

Helmed by Vivek Agnihotri, The Kashmir Files documents the "genocide" and exile of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990, during the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir. The film features Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty, Pallavi Joshi, Darshan Kumaar, Chinmay Mandlekar, and Bhasha Sumbli. The film had a successful run at the box office.

The movie, which was originally released on March 11, 2022, made it to the Oscars 2023 reminder list when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) released the list of 301 feature films eligible for last year's Oscars.

Kher also shared a video on X. "I got the notification which states that the Supreme Court in its verdict, has announced that the Constitutional Order abrogating Article 370 is valid. The abrogation of Article 370 was necessary. Kashmir is an integral part of India and now, I believe, all the debates surrounding this should come to an end," he said.

The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the Union Government's decision to abrogate Article 370 of the constitution, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and said that every decision taken by the Centre on behalf of a State can't be subject to a legal challenge.

A five-judge Constitution bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, and Surya Kant delivered the verdict.

CJI Chandrachud, reading out the judgement, said that every decision taken by the Centre on behalf of a State under proclamation can't be subject to a legal challenge and it will lead to the administration of the State to a standstill.

The Supreme Court said that it has held that Article 370 was a temporary provision. "The proclamation of Maharaja stated that the Constitution of India will supersede. With this, the para of Instrument of Accession ceases to exist... Article 370 was an interim arrangement due to war conditions in the State. Textual reading also indicates that Article 370 is a temporary provision," the Court said.

"Concurrence of the State government was not required to apply all provisions of the Constitution using Article 370(1)(d). So, the President of India taking the concurrence of the Union government was not malafide," the Court noted.

The Supreme Court also directed the Election Commission to hold Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections by September 30, 2024. The Supreme Court said in view of the Centre's submission on the restoration of the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir, statehood shall be restored as soon as possible.

The decision to abrogate Article 370 was taken in August 2019.