Article 35-A: Vehicles off roads, business establishments shut in Srinagar on Sunday. (Express photo by Shuaib Masoodi)
Article 35A Hearing in Supreme Court: The Supreme Court Monday adjourned the hearing on petitions challenging the validity of Article 35A that empowers the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution to define “permanent residents” of the state and provide special rights to them. The adjournment came soon after the court convened.
Both the Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir administration sought the adjournment on the ground that preparations for local body polls were underway. The Centre also said the interlocutor has been appointed and the talks are going on.
The two-judge bench adjourned the matter, saying it will again be listed in the week starting August 27. CJI Misra said, “The petition has to be decided by a three-judge bench but Justice D Y Chandrachud who was to be part of it is absent today.”
The Supreme Court will hear petitions challenging the validity of Article 35A on Monday.
Article 35-A empowers the J&K Constitution to define “permanent residents” of the state, and was added through “Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954”, issued by the President under Article 370. It replicates a state subject law promulgated by Dogra king Maharaja Hari Singh in 1927, following a strong campaign by Kashmiri Pandits who were opposed to the hiring of civil servants from Punjab.
Both the Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir administration sought the adjournment on the ground that preparations for local body polls were underway. The Centre also said the interlocutor has been appointed and the talks are going on.
The government suspended the Amarnath Yatra and pilgrims weren’t allowed to move from Jammu to Srinagar. The pilgrims at the twin base camps of Pahalgam and Baltal were, however, allowed to move towards the cave shrine.
The total strike extended beyond Srinagar to North Kashmir’s Baramulla, Sopore, Handwara, Kupwara, Pattan and Bandipore towns, and places in South and Central Kashmir. Almost all business establishments remained closed and public and private transport stayed off the roads. No shikaras plied on Srinagar’s Dal lake. While government offices were already closed due to it being Sunday, business establishments and private offices also downed shutters.
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Kashmir on Sunday observed an unprecedented shutdown against any tampering with the legislation that guarantees special constitutional rights to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The shutdown call was given by separatists to protest against petitions seeking scrapping of Article 35-A. They have also called for a complete shutdown on Monday, the day of the hearing. A top religious body of Kargil, Jamiat Ulami Asna Asharia, also backed the shutdown call, asking people in the Ladakh district to observe it in support of Article 35-A. Read More
Welcome to our LIVE blog. The Supreme Court will take up the petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Article 35-A today. Follow LIVE updates.