New Delhi: If Article 35A relating to special rights and privileges of the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir is ultra vires of the Constitution or if there is any procedural lapse, the issue may be dealt with by a five-judge Constitution bench, the Supreme Court indicated Monday.
A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and A M Khanwilkar tagged the issue along with a similar pending matter for hearing by a three-judge bench later this month.
“If this matter requires to be heard by a five-judge Constitution bench, then the three-judge bench which will hear the matter may refer it,” the bench said.
During the hearing, counsel for Jammu and Kashmir government told the bench that the issue of Article 35A has been “prima facie settled” by the state high court in its verdict passed in 2002.
The apex court was hearing a plea filed by Charu Wali Khanna challenging Article 35A of the Constitution and Section 6 of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution which deal with the “permanent residents” of the state. The plea has challenged certain provisions of the Constitution which deny property right to a woman who marries a person from outside the state. The provision, which makes such women from the state to lose rights over property, also applies to her son.
Press Trust of India
