SC to hear challenge to Constitution's Article 35A after Diwali

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear challenge to the Constitution's Article 35A and the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution's Section 6 granting special rights and privileges to natives of Jammu and Kashmir but denying to a woman who marries a non-Kashmiri and her children.

"All the pleas will be taken up for hearing after Diwali," said a bench of Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, Justice Dipak Misra and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud after senior counsel Rakesh Dwivedi, who mentioned the matter, also pointed out that the Central government too had no objection.

Charu Wali Khanna has moved the top court challenging the provisions which deal with "permanent residents" of the state and their special rights and privileges.

In the course of the hearing on August 14, the bench of Justice Misra and Justice A.M. Khanwilkar had said that the challenge to the validity of the constitutional provisions would be heard by a five judge constitution bench, only if it was satisfied that the provision was violative of the Constitution's "basic structure".

Earlier the bench headed by Chief Justice Khehar had on July 17 referred to the three judge bench the challenge to Article 35A.

--IANS

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