Chief Justice of India B R Gavai on Saturday said the Supreme Court upheld the abrogation of Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, “so that the country is governed by only one Constitution”, as envisioned by Dr B R Ambedkar.

The CJI was in Nagpur for the inauguration of a ‘Constitution Preamble Park’ and unveiling of Ambedkar’s statue at a law college.

The CJI was part of the five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court, led by then CJI D Y Chandrachud, that, in December 2023, upheld the Centre’s decision to abrogate Article 370.

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“When Parliament abrogated Article 370 and the challenge against it came before us, during the hearing I had referred to Dr Ambedkar’s speech. He had said that in the United States of America, there is a Constitution of the federal government which governs very limited subjects and every state also has its Constitution which has more scope,” CJI Gavai said.

“That is why Dr Ambedkar had said that this country needs only one Constitution to keep it united. Before abrogation of Article 370, a separate Constitution for just one state was not as per Ambedkar’s vision or thinking and, therefore, we unanimously upheld Parliament’s decision so that the country will be governed by only one Constitution,” he said.

“Even though our Constitution is federal, it is not like that of America. It is federal as well as unitary at the same time. Many had alleged that the Constitution provides for excessive centralisation and that the country may not remain united during times of war. To them, Babasaheb had responded firmly, he said that the Constitution is neither overly centralised nor excessively federal. It is well-suited to meet all challenges. And he assured the nation that the Constitution will keep the country united in times of both war and peace,” the CJI said.

“And while looking at the journey of 75 years of our Constitution, we are seeing the situation in neighbouring countries, may it be Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal or Sri Lanka… Whenever our country faces challenges or crises, it has stood strong together and remained united,” the CJI said.

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Reflecting on Ambedkar’s critical role in the making of the Constitution, the CJI recalled his emphasis on enforceable rights, citing Article 32 as the heart and soul of the Constitution. “Babasaheb said rights mean little if there are no remedies to enforce them,” he said. “That is why today we see Article 32 in the Constitution which we call the right to remedy in case of violation of fundamental rights, which can be directly raised before the Supreme Court. Its root lies in Ambedkar’s speech on December 17, 1946,” he said, adding that Ambedkar also insisted on ensuring social and economic equality alongside political rights.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, who also addressed the event, said the park would spread the Constitution’s core values.

Besides a statue of Ambedkar, the park has ten murals depicting key values of the Preamble, miniature models of Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House, Supreme Court and the Ashoka Pillar.