CURRENT AFFAIRS | 22 APRIL 2026
CLAT GK + CONSTITUTIONAL LAW & NATIONAL SECURITY
22 April 2026 marks one year since 26 tourists were shot at close range in Baisaran meadow, Pahalgam. Over the last twelve months, the Indian security grid in Jammu & Kashmir has been rewritten. 43 Temporary Operating Bases (TOBs) now sit between 3,000 and 9,000 ft on the Pir Panjal; 26 were built by CRPF in Kashmir (Oct 2025), another 17 in Jammu (Nov 2025). More than 50,000 tourism workers — pony-wallahs, guides, shikara operators — are on an Aadhaar-linked QR database, a “human firewall” co-managed with the J&K Tourism Department. Operations Mahadev (July 2025) neutralised the three-man Baisaran module; the Doctor Module was dismantled in November 2025; the Saifullah group was rolled up earlier this year. The operational mantra has moved from “holding the road” to “holding the ridge” — and every piece of that shift will feature on CLAT 2027.
Why it matters for CLAT: This is the syllabus’s most current example of the balance between State security and constitutional rights. Art 355 (Union duty to protect States), UAPA Sec 43D(5) (restricted bail), AFSPA, NSA 1980 and the NIA Act 2008 are the legal architecture. Puttaswamy (2017) applies its four-prong proportionality test to the Aadhaar-linked worker database. Post-370 integration (In re: Article 370, 2023) frames the wider constitutional shift.
Constitutional & Legal Framework
- Article 355 — Union has a duty to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance — the constitutional anchor for central deployment in J&K
- Article 352 — National Emergency — not invoked; operational response has stayed within ordinary statutory framework
- UAPA Sec 43D(5) — Bail in UAPA offences is nearly impossible once a prima facie case is made; upheld in NIA v Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali (2019)
- AFSPA 1958 — Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act — still operational in parts of J&K; shoot-to-kill/search without warrant under Sec 4; immunity under Sec 7
- NSA 1980 — Preventive detention up to 12 months — requires advisory-board review within 3 weeks (Art 22(4))
- NIA Act 2008 — National Investigation Agency’s pan-India jurisdiction over scheduled terror offences
- Naga People’s Movement v UoI (1998) — Upheld AFSPA’s constitutionality; emphasised ‘calling in aid’ of the armed forces
- Puttaswamy v UoI (2017) — Right to privacy under Art 21 — surveillance must pass legality, legitimate aim, necessity and proportionality
- Hitendra Vishnu Thakur (1994) — TADA case — preventive-detention and anti-terror laws must be strictly construed
- In re: Article 370 (2023) — SC upheld abrogation of Art 370 and reorganisation; context for the post-2019 security architecture
CLAT Angle — How This Gets Tested
- Art 355 vs Art 352: The Union has NOT invoked a National Emergency. Art 355 is the softer basis — ‘duty to protect’ rather than a full emergency. Expect a factual trap here.
- UAPA 43D(5) trap: Regular bail jurisprudence (Sanjay Chandra, 2012) does NOT apply. The court looks only at whether there is a prima facie case from the chargesheet — it cannot re-weigh evidence.
- Puttaswamy and the ‘human firewall’: An Aadhaar-linked worker database engages Art 21. Four prongs: (i) backing law, (ii) legitimate aim, (iii) necessity, (iv) proportionality. A principle-application passage is highly likely.
- AFSPA immunity: Sec 7 immunity is NOT absolute — prior Central-Govt sanction is needed for prosecution, but the SC has read it down in Extra Judicial Execution Victim Families v UoI (2016) to permit investigation.
Key Facts at a Glance
| Original attack date | 22 April 2025, Baisaran meadow |
| Fatalities | 26 (mostly tourists) |
| New CRPF TOBs | 43 total (26 in Kashmir Oct 2025 + 17 in Jammu Nov 2025) |
| TOB altitude range | 3,000-9,000 ft on Pir Panjal |
| Tourism-worker database | 50,000+ on Aadhaar-linked QR grid |
| Counter-terror operations | Ops Mahadev (Jul 2025), Doctor Module dismantled (Nov 2025), Saifullah group neutralised |
| Doctrinal shift | ‘Holding the road’ → ‘holding the ridge’ (area-dominance) |
| Art 370 status | Upheld as abrogated — In re: Article 370 (2023) |
The constitutional stakes. The post-Pahalgam grid is a live Puttaswamy problem. A QR-and-Aadhaar worker database may satisfy legitimate aim (counter-terror) but its proportionality — are less-intrusive means available? — must be justified on record. Similarly, UAPA 43D(5) bail denial has been challenged (Watali, 2019, upheld the strict test; later SC benches in Union of India v K.A. Najeeb (2021) carved out a constitutional escape where prolonged incarceration itself violates Art 21). CLAT Legal Reasoning will almost certainly test the tension between Art 355 (Union’s duty) and Art 21 (due process) through a principle-application passage on exactly this factual matrix.
Mnemonic — U-A-P (Union-Army-Privacy)
Art 355 (Union duty) · Art 352 (Emergency — not invoked) · UAPA 43D(5) (bail bar) · Puttaswamy 4 prongs (legality · aim · necessity · proportionality). TOBs: 26 + 17 = 43. Cases — Watali, K.A. Najeeb, Naga People’s Movement, Extra Judicial Execution Families.
Likely exam questions. (1) Which Article imposes on the Union a duty to protect States against internal disturbance? (2) Under UAPA Sec 43D(5), what standard must the court apply to bail applications? (3) In Puttaswamy (2017), the four-prong proportionality test requires which four elements? (4) Naga People’s Movement upheld which statute’s constitutionality? (5) Legal reasoning — does an Aadhaar-linked worker database pass Puttaswamy’s necessity and proportionality prongs?
Test Yourself — 10 MCQs
Click each option to reveal the answer and explanation.
Practice Quiz — 10 CLAT-Style Questions
Click an option to reveal the answer and explanation.
