- The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the plea challenging the validity of the Article 35-A, that gives special rights and privileges to the Jammu and Kashmir natives.
- Article 35-A was incorporated in the Constitution in 1954 through Presidential order.It gives the Jammu and Kashmir Legislature a complete freedom to decide, who are all ‘Permanent Residents’ of the State.This confers on them (a) special rights and privileges in public sector jobs (b) acquisition of property in the State (c)scholarships as well as public aid and welfare and (d)If a native woman marries a man not holding a permanent resident certificate of Jammu & Kashmir, then she would be restricted from her property right.
- Petitioners argue that Article 35A should be scrapped as (a) it is against the spirit of of India as it creates a “class within a class of Indian citizens” (b)It was inserted unconstitutionally, bypassing Article 368 which empowers only Parliament to amend the Constitution (c) discriminates against women and (d) against the fundamental right(Right to equality) conferred by Part III of the Constitution.
- Those in favour of Article 35-A says it should not be scrapped as (a) Article 370(1)(d) empowers the President of India to extend with requisite exceptions and modifications the other provisions of the Indian Constitution to J&K as may be necessary and (b)Various Articles in the Constitution provide special rights to states like Nagaland (Article 371A) and Mizoram (Article 371G) based on historical reasons.
