NEW DELHI: India’s Supreme Court concluded its hearing on Tuesday on a challenge to New Delhi’s 2019 imposition of direct rule in Illegally Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), a snap decision that led to protests and mass arrests.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government suspended Article 370 of the constitution that guarantees limited autonomy to the disputed region, home to a long-running insurgency against Indian rule.

The five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D. Y. Chandrachud will now retire to consider if the move was legal despite lacking the endorsement from parliament usually required for constitutional change.

No timeline has been give for their decision.

The Supreme Court in New Delhi heard arguments over 16 days from government lawyers, constitutional experts representing IIOJK’s pro-India political parties, and others challenging the move.

Many residents and critics say that authorities have since curbed media freedoms and public protests in a drastic curtailment of civil liberties.