Mehbooba Mufti hopes plea against Article 35A will be dismissed by Supreme Court

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday expressed confidence in the Supreme Court, saying that a plea challenging Article 35A of the Constitution will be dismissed by the apex court.

Addressing the people at Independence Day celebrations in Srinagar, Mehbooba Mufti said, “I have full confidence that our Supreme Court will again dismiss this plea challenging Article 35A of the Constitution in the same way as the apex court had done in these 70 years.”

Mufti further hailed National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah for his advice on Artice 370 matter which she has followed.

“Thank Farooq Abdullah Sahab for meeting me; requested him to advice me over the fact that again some people approached SC over Article 370,” she said.

“I am happy that like a father, with lot of affection he (Farooq Abdullah) heard me and gave advice on it and that I followed,” she added.

On Monday, the top court said all petitions that demand scrapping of the articles should be heard together. The SC is now likely to hear all cases on August 29.

The Supreme Court last month had asked the Centre to file a reply within three weeks to a writ petition, filed by NGO ‘We the Citizens,’ seeking that Article 35A be struck down.

For the unversed, Article 35A of the Constitution empowers the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly to define the state’s permanent residents and their privileges.

Article 35A was inserted into the Constitution of India through a presidential order in 1954, to guarantee that the maharaja’s ban on outsiders would remain. It actually makes little difference in practical terms, for domicile rights apply in other states too.

Meanwhile, Article 370 of the Indian constitution grants special autonomous status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir.