The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the Government's decision to abrogate Article 370, which bestowed special status on the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir, and said steps should be taken to conduct elections in the Assembly by September 30 next year.

The apex court also directed that statehood to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir be restored at the earliest.

The apex court also upheld the validity of the decision to carve out the Union Territory of Ladakh from Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 2019. On that day, the Government abrogated Article 370 and bifurcated the State into two union territories — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

The erstwhile State does not have internal sovereignty different from other States of the country, CJI DY Chandrachud said.  "... All provisions of the Indian Constitution can be applied to J-K," the CJI said.

"We hold the exercise of presidential power to issue constitutional order abrogating Article 370 of Constitution as valid," the CJI said.

The bench comprising CJI D Y Chandrachud and Justices Gavai, Surya Kant, Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, assembled at 10.56 am to pronounce the three separate and concurring judgements. Justices Kaul and Khanna wrote their judgments separately. In his concurring judgment, Justice Khanna said the purpose of Article 370 was to slowly bring Jammu and Kashmir at par with other Indian states. He directed the setting up of a truth-and-reconciliation commission to probe human rights violations both by the state and non-state actors.

The CJI said Article 370 was couched amidst other temporary and transitional provisions with a marginal note which indicates that its provisions were temporary.

"On January 26, 1950, when the Constitution was adopted, the State of Jammu and Kashmir became an integral part of the territory of India. The mandate of Article 1 is that 'India that is Bharat shall be a Union of States'," the CJI noted.