Supreme Court LIVE: Aadhaar, Article 35A, Hadiya love jihad cases to come up for hearing today

The Supreme Court is expected to hear several high-profile cases today, from a plea challenging mandatory Aadhaar linking for social welfare schemes to a clutch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Article 35A.

Aadhaar: The Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government has challenged the Centre's move to make Aadhaar mandatory for availing benefits of social welfare schemes. The plea is listed for hearing before a bench comprising Justice A K Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan. The West Bengal government has challenged the provision which said that without Aadhaar, the benefits of social welfare schemes would not be extended. The West Bengal Chief Minister recently said that she would link her mobile number with Aadhaar. "If they want to disconnect my phone, let them do so," Mamata said.

Article 35A: A bunch of petition challenging Article 35A are likely to come up for hearing before a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra today. Article 35A relates to special rights and privileges of permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir. Article 35A, added to the Indian Constitution by a Presidential Order in 1954, also empowers the state's legislature to frame laws without attracting a challenge on grounds of violating the Right to Equality of people from other states or any other right under the Constitution.

Love Jihad: The case pertains to Hadiya/Akhila--a Hindu woman who converted to Islam and married Shafin Jahan. The girl's father approached the Kerala High Court which annulled the marriage, calling it a case of 'love jihad', and directed that Hadiya returns to her parents. Hadiya's husband Shafin moved the Supreme Court in August challenging the high court's order. The court directed the National Investigation Agency to investigate the alleged forced conversion.