Temporary Provisions Regarding Jammu and Kashmir and Constitutional Application Order (C.O. 273)
Official heading: “Temporary provisions with respect to the State of Jammu and Kashmir”
- Source edition
- The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
- Source locator
- Part XXI, Article 370, printed pages 230–231
- Last human source-link check
- Not yet checked
- Last human legal review
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1. In One Sentence
Originally established a transitional constitutional relationship for Jammu and Kashmir, rendered inoperative in August 2019 by Presidential Order C.O. 273, making the entire Constitution fully applicable.
2. What It Means in Everyday Language
Article 370 was drafted as a "temporary provision" reflecting the unique historical circumstances of Jammu and Kashmir’s accession to India under the 1947 Instrument of Accession.
Originally, under clause (1), parliamentary law-making was limited to defense, external affairs, communications, and ancillary matters, with other constitutional provisions applying only through Presidential Orders issued with the concurrence of the State Government.
Clause (3) empowered the President to declare Article 370 inoperative or operative with modifications on the recommendation of the Constituent Assembly of the State.
On 5–6 August 2019, the President, on the recommendation of Parliament, issued Constitution Orders C.O. 272 and C.O. 273 under Article 370(1) and 370(3). C.O. 273 declared that all clauses of Article 370 ceased to be operative and substituted a single operative provision declaring that all provisions of the Constitution of India apply to Jammu and Kashmir without exception or modification.
In a historic unanimous judgment in In Re Article 370 (2023), a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of C.O. 273 and the full constitutional integration of Jammu and Kashmir into the Union of India, affirming that Article 370 was always an asymmetric, temporary feature designed to achieve progressive integration.
3. Practical Illustrative Example
A citizen purchases residential property or applies for public employment in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir under uniform national citizenship laws.
4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions
Article 370 represents a major constitutional transition from asymmetric federalism to full constitutional parity.
- Temporary nature: Formulated as a transitional provision in Part XXI; confirmed as temporary by the Supreme Court in 2023.
- C.O. 273 effect: Declared all original clauses inoperative from 6 August 2019, applying the full Constitution of India.
- Judicial confirmation: Unanimously upheld in In Re Article 370 (2024) 4 SCC 1 as a valid exercise of presidential constituent power.
5. Operative Constitutional Text
6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations
Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.
- •Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part XXI, Article 370, printed pages 230–231 • Human source-link check pending
Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.
