Article 35A: Supreme Court defers hearing by 3 months

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday deferred hearing in the matter of Article 35A for three months, news agency ANI reported.
The apex court had earlier deferred the hearing by two months, but later amended its order, according to ANI.
Article 35A of the Constitution empowers the state legislature of Jammu and Kashmir to define its "permanent residents" and their special rights and privileges.It was added to the Constitution through a presidential order in 1954.
An NGO, We the Citizens, had challenged the provision in the apex court in 2014 arguing that it was not added to the Constitution via an amendment under Article 368. It was never presented before Parliament, and came into effect immediately, the group had argued.
In another case in the SC last month, two Kashmiri women argued that the state's laws, flowing from Article 35A, had disenfranchised their children.
On the other hand, supporters of the provision argue that it would lead to the erosion of the state's autonomy and trigger demographic change in the Muslim-majority valley.
(With inputs from ANI)