In India, Narendra Modi’s control of the Supreme Court

2023-12-25 14:00:10
A Muslim trader prays in his store, in Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir, December 20, 2023. MUKHTAR KHAN / AP

The notice, awaited for four years, was the last hope of Kashmiris. The Supreme Court finally ruled in favor of the government of Narendra Modi by validating, on December 11, the very controversial decision of the Prime Minister taken on August 5, 2019 to repeal the partial autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir. In the wake of this decision, the Hindu nationalist government brutally divided the state into two distinct regions, now demoted to the rank of territories administered directly by New Delhi.

Also read: Indian government revokes Kashmir’s autonomy

For the Supreme Court, this measure represents “a culmination of the integration process [du Cachemire au reste de l’Inde] and, as such, a valid exercise of power”. A few months before the legislative elections scheduled for spring 2024, the Prime Minister, who is seeking a third term at the head of the country, welcomed a judgment “historical”. The latter hopes to draw electoral dividends from it. The recovery of Kashmir, the only Muslim-majority region in the country, was on the agenda of Hindu nationalists for a long time, and represents a victory for supporters of Hindutva (Hinduness or Indianness), this ideology which advocates the superiority of Hindus. and whose objective is to make secular India a Hindu nation.

For rights defenders, this is a new blow to democracy, while the country’s highest court has long been considered a bulwark against the excesses of the executive. The Court’s judgment further damaged citizens’ confidence in the institution. For Fali Nariman, one of the country’s most respected constitutional experts, this decision is “totally wrong and wrong”, from a legal point of view. Like many other lawyers, Mr. Nariman believes that the government’s decision was not “conforms neither to the provisions of the Constitution nor to the well-established principles of federalism”.

Highly political affairs

Since the Hindu nationalists came to power in 2014, the Supreme Court, although with very broad powers, has been accused of having capitulated to the government of Narendra Modi. Opponents, activists but also the most eminent legal specialists judge that it is failing in its duties. “During the Modi period, the Court failed to fulfill its constitutional role of checking government excesses, but it also played cheerleader for the government agenda », wrote Anuj Bhuwania in 2020, professor at the law school of Jindal University, near New Delhi.

You have 60% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.