India’s claim to sovereignty over Jammu and Kashmir is predicated on the legality and finality of an “instrument of accession” (the Instrument of Accession) purportedly signed by Hari Singh (scion of a remnant British colonial dynasty in Jammu and Kashmir) on October 26 or27, 1947, acceding Jammu and Kashmir to India on a limited (only with respect to certain matters) and conditional (subject to the exercise by the people of their right to self-determination) basis. While India initially accepted that the Instrument of Accession was not final and conditioned on ratification by a democratic referendum, India later claimed the Instrument of Accession is a valid, final treaty.  

The mere existence of the Instrument of Accession is disputed by authorities. If it does exist, it is legally void or invalid for several reasons,each dispositive in itself, including, among many others:

§  It was conditioned on ratification through a democratic referendum, which never occurred (actually, which India never permitted to occur);

§  Hari Singh did not have the capacity to deliver it because he did not control the territory of Jammu and Kashmir at the time of its execution;

§  Hari Singh did not have the capacity to the deliver it because he was not a legitimate sovereign (his claim to sovereignty was through an 1846 British colonial legal instrument that was null and void or invalidated);

§  Hari Singh did not have the authority to deliver it because he was a non-representative, autocratic ruler opposed by the vast majority of the population he claimed to represent and a repressive tyrant responsible for grave human rights violations and atrocity crimes, including ethnic cleansing and genocidal killings, against the population he claimed to represent;

§  Hari Singh did not have the authority to execute it because he had(prior to its execution) delegated his authority (through a standstill agreement with Pakistan); and

§  If it was actually executed, it was improperly executed.

India’s claim to sovereignty over Jammu and Kashmir through the Instrument of Accession has never been recognized by any proper legal authority and has been rejected by the United Nations(including the Security Council) since 1948, when India first brought its dispute with Pakistan over Jammu and Kashmir to the UN.  Despite basing its claim to sovereignty over Jammu and Kashmir on the Instrument of Accession, the India has repeatedly materially breached its terms. In August 2019, India went beyond its historic breaches by repudiating the Instrument of Accession altogether (see C.O. 273 of August 6,2019).  India’s repeated, material violations and repudiation of the Instrument of Accession demonstrate that India itself views the purported legal instrument that is foundational to its claim to sovereignty over Jammu and Kashmir as invalid and/or non-binding.  Still, the invalid Instrument of Accession is the legal cover invoked by India to legitimate its ongoing illegal occupation,annexation and colonization of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir and its government’s policy seeking to annex Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir.