New Delhi, Aug 27: The Supreme Court on Monday postponed the petition filed by Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) member and lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay demanding the abolition of article 35-A which grants special rights and privileges to the permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir. The Apex court has scheduled the next date of hearing on August 31 along with other pleas.
However, tension started erupting in Kashmir valley ahead of the hearing of Article 35-A. According to the officials,”Shops and other business establishments, which had opened this morning, downed shutters after rumours of Article 35A being scrapped spread like wildfire and were circulated on social media.”
In order to control the law and order ahead of the hearing of Article 35-A, Additional Director General Of Police, (Law and Order), Jammu and Kashmir, Munir Ahmed Khan, tweeted, “A rumour is being spread by miscreants that hearing of Article 35-A case in the Supreme Court is today. This is not a fact. We will investigate all these rumour mongering cases and deal with the culprits strictly.”
Meanwhile, the top court is likely to hear the main petition filed by the NGO We the Citizens, demanding the abolishment of the law on the grounds that it is “unconstitutional” on August 3. Article 35-A incorporated in the Constitution by a 1954 Presidential Order, disallows people from residing in Jammu and Kashmir, buying or owning immovable property in the state, settle permanently, or get state government jobs.
