J-K govt seeks adjournment of SC hearing on Article 35A as valley braces for shutdown

The Jammu and Kashmir government has asked the Supreme Court to defer the August 6 hearing on a bunch of petitions for quashing Article 35A of the Constitution citing upcoming panchayat and urban local body elections as Kashmir valley braced for street protests and a two-day strike over the contentious issue.

“On the account of the ongoing preparations for the upcoming panchayat/urban local body and municipal elections,” the state of Jammu and Kashmir is seeking an adjournment of hearing in the case, Shoeb Alam counsel for Jammu and Kashmir government said in the letter to the registrar of the Supreme Court.

Hindustan Times has a copy of the letter.

The apex court is hearing a batch of petitions in the matter, including one filed by an NGO ‘We the Citizens’ seeking quashing of the Article, which confers special status to permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir.

A woman lawyer, Charu Wali Khanna, has also challenged the Article on the grounds of being discriminatory. Khanna has also questioned Section 6 of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution that deals with the “permanent residents” of the state. Certain provisions of the Constitution deny property rights to a woman who marries a person not a “citizen” of Kashmir.

According to the law, women from the state lose rights over property and this also applies to her children. The woman also loses employment opportunities in the state.

Article 35A was added to the Constitution by a Presidential order. It accords special rights and privileges to the citizens of J and Kashmir and also empowers the state legislature to frame any law without attracting a challenge on the grounds of it violating the Right to Equality of people from other states under the Indian Constitution.

Last week, political parties and separatists warned against ‘tinkering’ with Article 35A of the Constitution that guarantees special privileges to Jammu and Kashmir amid a rising sense of unease ahead of the scheduled Supreme Court on August 6 on petitions challenging the validity of the law.

First Published: Aug 04, 2018 14:36 IST