J&K on tenterhooks as Supreme Court to hear petitions challenging validity of Article 35A

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New Delhi: Even as the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir remains tense, Supreme Court will hear petitions challenging the validity of Article 35A on Monday.

Article 35A of the Constitution grants special privileges to the residents of J&K. Also, according to it, people from outside the state cannot acquire any immovable property in the state. The reason for a certain degree of jitters within the state is that a certain section fears people from other parts of the country will settle in large numbers if the law is diluted or repealed. On the one hand, separatists and many prominent politicians of the state have together raised voices in favour of Article 35A. Ahead of the scheduled hearing, separatist conglomerate Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) called for a two-day complete shutdown on Sunday and Monday. Shops and business establishments have been closed across the Valley while all kinds of transport remained off the roads due to the strike called.

The government and the apex court is treading a very cautious path on the matter.

Meanwhile, the state government filed an application before the Registrar of the Supreme Court, informing that it is going to seek an adjournment of the hearing of the petition in view of the "ongoing preparations for the upcoming Panchayat and urban local body and municipal elections in the state".