In July 2000, this writer purchased The Constitution of India with selective comments by P M Bakshi, a former member of the country's Law Commission. It was the book's fourth edition, published in January 2000 by the reputed firm of Universal Law Publishing Co Pvt Ltd, New Delhi. I wanted to understand the constitutional procedure for bringing about the much talked about demand for trifurcation of J&K.

Actually, I was seeking corroboration of what Dr A S Anand, a former chief justice of India, had stated in the 1998 edition of his book on the J&K constitution. He had mentioned that, with respect to Article 3 of the Constitution of India, 'the status of J&K markedly differs from that of the other states. In the case of other states,' he wrote, 'only the views of their legislatures are ascertained by the President before recommending introduction of a Bill relating to these matters [of altering the boundaries or name of a state], but in the case of Jammu & Kashmir no such Bill shall be introduced unless the legislature of the state consents.'

Imagine my shock when Bakshi's book did not show the above exceptional provision mentioned by Justice Anand. A letter to that effect was sent to Universal Publishing. The reply dated July 15, 2000, of a director of Universal Publishing was unbelievable. It said: 'No change can be made by us in Article 3 of the Constitution, as parliamentary amendment is necessary for amending it. It has been taken from the Constitution of India published by the Government of India. Article 3 in our book is OK.'

A little reflection brought home the above reply's horrifying revelation: the exception to the article mentioned at 1 above had NOT been approved by the country's Parliament! An examination of the 43 constitutional orders issued by the President showed that none of the changes/exceptions made for J&K by orders in his name find a place in the official Constitution of India -- not even in the March 2002 economy edition of Bakshi's book. Clearly, none of them had been approved by Parliament.

Clearly, what had transpired was that each ruling government in Delhi had simply dealt with the ruling regime in Srinagar and brought about orders signed by the President of India under Article 370(1)(d) that permits him to specify 'exceptions and modifications' in the provisions of the nation's Constitution in their application to J&K. And all these exceptions and modifications have been in vogue without a green signal from Parliament. In effect, the great, supreme Parliament of India has been hijacked for 50 years and more!

The horror is not over, readers.

The first sentence of Article 368(2) says, 'An amendment of this Constitution may be initiated only by the introduction of a bill for the purpose in either House of Parliament...' But the President's Constitutional (Application to Jammu & Kashmir) Amendment Order, 1954, added the following to Article 368(2): 'Provided further that no such amendment shall have effect in relation to the State of Jammu & Kashmir unless applied by order of the President under clause (1) of Article 370.'

What those 30 words above were doing was to amend Article 368 titled 'Amendment of the Constitution'. And it was being done under the seal of the President without invoking Parliament in any manner whatsoever -- in violation of what has specifically been demanded by the above-quoted clause of this Article itself.

Was that action constitutionally correct? NO! Under Article 368(2)(e), any amendment seeking to make a change in Article 368 itself requires not only the commonly known two-thirds majority in each of the two Houses of Parliament, but 'shall also require to be ratified by the legislatures of not less than one-half of the states by resolution to that effect passed by those legislatures before the Bill making provision for such amendment is presented to the President for assent'.

Was the amendment to Article 368 made for J&K by the President's constitutional order of 1954 based on the above-stipulated ratification by the required number of state legislatures? NO! It was, instead, issued exclusively under Article 370 and was therefore a gross constitutional impropriety. In fact, all the 43 constitutional orders must be deemed unconstitutional because they were, as seen earlier, not based on parliamentary approval. It is conspicuous that this constitutional amendment of Article 368 by a presidential order is not in the list of recorded constitutional amendments of 50 years from the first one in 1951.

Seeking refuge in the power given by Article 370 to the President (acting on the advice of his Ccouncil of Ministers) to make constitutional exceptions is itself unconstitutional because Article 370 is applicable only to J&K while 'Article 368 (Power of Parliament to amend the Constitution and procedure thereof)' is a much larger and more supreme provision. If Article 370 overrides Article 368 -- as it has done in the last 50 years -- it must be altered or, better still, scrapped.

But even scrapping Article 370 does not require Parliament's consent! Clause (3) in the article says, "Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provision of this article, the President may, by public notification, declare that this article shall cease to be operative ... Provided that the recommendations of the Constituent Assembly of the State ... shall be necessary before the President issues such a notification." Note that the President's order abrogating Article 370 doesn't need the sanction of a parliament democratically elected by the people of India but demands the push by a J&K institution that's been moribund since the first state assembly election took place in 1957! Can anything be more absurd in the constitutional working of any self-respecting nation?

Sadly, the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution didn't have either the capability to understand the position or the courage to recommend what it should have: abrogation of Article 370 or, in the least, its dilution so as to return to Parliament the constitutional supremacy it merits. After its go-by to a definition of secularism and the enactment of a uniform civil code, Article 370 thus became the NCRWC's third failure.