Aug 5, 2019 & this day will go down in history as one that corrected constitutional blunder: Tushar Mehta

NEW DELHI: Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, the Centre’s key counsel in defending the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, said on Monday the Supreme Court verdict upholding the government’s August 5, 2019 decision will go down in history as the one that corrected a “Himalayan constitutional blunder”.

As the only lawyer involved in the process of abrogation of Article 370 before August 5, 2019 and having led the arguments before the constitution bench of the Supreme Court, it is a historic day for him too, Mehta said.

“It is only the iron will of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the resolute decisiveness and brilliant strategy of our Home Minister Amit Shah that made this historic decision possible. The nation will forever remain indebted to them,” he said.

“The judicial adjudication by the Supreme Court is also equally historic and rare. A five-judge Constitution bench decided the matter that consisted of all five senior most judges — Justice D Y Chandrachud, Chief Justice of India, Justice S K Kaul, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice Bhushan R Gavai and Justice Surya Kant -—a historic bench presided by the Chief Justice of India and also comprising three future chief justices of India,” he said in a statement.

The top law officer of the country said a very patient hearing was given by the bench to all sides for more than three weeks.

Mehta added that the highest court of the country has stood by the constitutional values and secured to all the residents of Jammu and Kashmir their legitimate rights that they were deprived of since independence, while taking care of democratic elections also.