FRESHERS POOL PROBLEM

1. Kashindia is a country located on the Mehtishian continent and acquired independence from
the Zamindari Empire in 1947. The independence of Kashindia however came at the cost of
a bloody and brutal partition in which the country was divided along religious lines into two
separate countries: Kashindia and Nigamistan.
2. Kashindia has adopted a quasi-federal Constitution to actualize and uphold the values of
national unity, cultural diversity, democracy, regional autonomy and rapid socio-economic
transformation through collective efforts. The Constitution of Kashindia establishes the
Supreme Court of Kashindia which is the final interpreter of the Constitution of Kashindia
and the custodian of basic civil rights and liberties of its citizens.
3. Under the constitutional scheme of Kashindia, the state of Jacoob and Kartishkir (J&K),
having a multifarious historical background, is one of the twenty-nine states. However, the
constitutional status of the State of J&K has been heavily contested by Nigamistan since the
independence of Kashindia in 1947 and the State of J&K has become a hotbed of rising
militancy and internal insurgency at the behest of various internal as well as external
organizations from Nigamistan over the last few decades.
4. Prior to 1947, the State of J&K was a princely state under the Zamindari Empire with a Hindu
king and a majority Muslim population. Due to its strategic geographical location, its ruler
Maharaja Jazz Singh initially decided to remain independent and preferred to sign standstill
agreements with Kashindia and Nigamistan. However, upon an invasion by a certain tribal
group and army men from Nigamistan, led by Ayoob Chaurasia, Jazz Singh sought Kashindia’s
help and Kashindia responded that it could send its army after the State of J&K acceded to
Kashindia. Consequently, Jazz Singh signed an Instrument of Accession which was accepted
by Mr. Deekay, the then Governor General of Kashindia. The Schedule appended to the
Instrument of Accession gave the Kashindian Parliament the power to legislate for the State
of J&K only on matters related to defence, external affairs and communications.
5. Subsequently, the terms of the Instrument of Accession was reflected in the Constitution of
Kashindia through Article 370 thereby granting the State of J&K a great degree of autonomy
to conduct and regulate its internal affairs. As a result of this autonomy, the State of J&K
adopted the Constitution of J&K in 1956 and till date remains the only state of Kashindia to
have its own Constitution.
6. In 1954, Article 35A was introduced to the Constitution of Kashindia through a Presidential
Order called the Constitution (Application to the State of J&K) Order, 1954 by exercising the

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 powers conferred by clause (1) of the Article 370 of the Kashindian Constitution, and with the
concurrence of the Government of the State of J&K.
7. Article 35A enables the legislature of the State of J&K to define the class of persons that shall
constitute the permanent residents of the State of J&K and confer upon such residents any
special rights and privileges with respect to employment under the state government,
acquisition of immovable property in the state, settlement in the state, the right to scholarships
and such other forms of aid as the state government may provide.
8. The Constitution of J&K defines ‘permanent residents’ of the State of J&K as those who were
already state subjects by 14th May, 1954 or had lived there for at least 10 years prior to that
date and had lawfully acquired immovable property in the State.
9. The special rights of the permanent residents of the State of J&K are as follows:
a) The Constitution of J&K states that – A person shall not be qualified to be chosen to fill
a seat in the Legislature unless he is a Permanent Resident of the State” (Section 51); Until
other provision is made in this behalf under this Constitution, all the laws in force
immediately before the commencement of this Constitution and applicable to any public
service or any post which continues to exist after the commencement of this Constitution,
as service or post under the State, shall continue in force so far as consistent with the
provisions of this Constitution (Section 127); The elections to the Legislative Assembly
shall be on the basis of adult suffrage, that is to say, every person who is a permanent
resident of the State and who is not less than eighteen years of age shall be entitled to vote
(Section 140).
b) No person who is not a Permanent Resident of the State of J&K can own property there.
c) No person who is not a Permanent Resident of the State of J&K can obtain job with the
State Government of J&K.
d) No person who is not a Permanent Resident of the State of J&K can join any professional
college run by the Government of the State of J&K or get any form of government aid.
10. Unhappy with the state of affairs in the State of J&K, one Nipunj Goyal Shrivastava, a resident
of the State of J&K, along with a non-governmental organization called Rajtiwari Sarvagya
Sood (RSS), has challenged the constitutional validity of Article 370 and Article 35A in the
Supreme Court of Kashindia.
11. The petitioners seek a writ and appropriate declaration to declare Article 370 of the
Constitution of Kashindia a temporary provision which has lapsed with the dissolution of the
Constituent Assembly of J&K or in the alternative requires a mere public notification by the
President to be declared inoperative in accordance with clause (3) of Article 370.

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12. On Article 35A, the petitioner contends that the Presidential Order of 1954 went beyond the
jurisdiction of the President and is therefore unconstitutional. Additionally, the petitioner
argues that Article 35A is violative of the Right to Equality under the Kashindian Constitution
as it creates “two different classes of citizens”.
13. In light of increasing claims for independence of the State of J&K from the Kashindian Union,
the Supreme Court of Kashindia has also been asked to decide on whether the State of J&K
has the right to unilaterally secede from Kashindia in accordance with the principles of
international law.

Note:
 The provisions of the Kashindian Constitution are in pari materia with the Constitution of
India.
 The provisions of the Constitution of J&K are in pari materia with the Constitution of
Jammu and Kashmir.
 For the question on secession, participants are allowed to equate the State of J&K and Kashindia
as the State of Jammu and Kashmir and India respectively.

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