Tushar Mehta saw it through, from start to finish

NEW DELHI: The SC verdict upholding the Modi government’s decision to abrogate J&K’s special status also marked a personal validation for solicitor general Tushar Mehta. He is the only person who was part of the process to nullify Article 370 from the beginning — when the idea was being discussed and formulated by the government — till the end when he convinced the SC about its legality and successfully defended the Centre’s decision.
Although he was pitted against high-profile legal minds, the law officer forcefully challenged the central plank of the petitioners — that the framers of the Constitution may have conceived of Article 370 as ‘temporary and transient’, but it had become a permanent feature after the J&K Constituent Assembly ceased to exist.
A “Himalayan constitutional blunder of the past with gigantic proportions was ultimately corrected,” he said after the verdict. “Being the only lawyer involved in the process of nullification of Article 370 through constitutional and legal means before August 5, 2019 and having led the arguments before the constitution bench while defending the constitutional process, it is a historical day for me too,” the SG said.
“It is only the iron will of our Prime Minister Narendra Modiji and resolute decisiveness and brilliant strategy of our home minister Amit Shahji which made this historical decision possible. The nation will ever remain indebted to them. I have had the good fortune of witnessing and being a part of the entire process which exhibited their exemplary resolve, coupled with minute coordination of the smallest details and flawless and scientific stewardship of the parliamentary process and floor management inside the House,” he added.
Mehta said the five seniormost justices on the bench were legendary judges and were “indisputably intellectual giants who gave a very patient hearing to all sides”. “Having extensively read the history behind insertion of Article 370 into our Constitution, I can confidently say that the soul of Sardar Patel will be fully contended today as the provision, which he could not prevent from being inserted in the Constitution, has finally gone,” he added.