The Supreme Court is likely to hear the petitions challenging Article 35-A on April 9, one of the petitioners said.
“The matter has been listed for hearing in the Apex Court for April 9 in the tentative list,” said one of the petitioners and leader of the West Pakistan Refugees, Labha Ram Gandhi, who just returned from New Delhi after holding deliberations with his advocates.
On October 30, a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India Dipak Mishra, Justice Ajay Manikrao Khanwikar and Justice DY Chandrachud had deferred the hearing of petitions by three months following the submission by attorney general, KK Venugopal that the court proceedings would hamper the dialogue initiated by the centre’s interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma.
Article 35-A gives special rights and privileges to the permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir.
The petitions challenging Article 35-A have been filed by West Pakistan Refugees Action Committee, We The Citizens, an NGO and Charu Wali Khanna and Dr Seema Razdan.
Article 35-A was added to the Constitution by a Presidential Order in 1954 and was extended to J&K through the ‘Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order issued by President Rajendra Prasad on May 14, 1954.
It was specifically devised to grant protection to state subject laws that had already been defined under the Maharaja’s rule and notified in 1927 and 1932.