SC says abolition of Article 35A curtailed fundamental rights of non-residents of Kashmir
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court shed light on the repercussions of the 2019 repeal of Article 35A, which had granted special privileges to permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir.
The court, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, emphasized that the abolition of Article 35A had curtailed the fundamental rights of non-residents in the region. The article, which empowered the erstwhile state's legislature to define permanent residents, had provided exclusive land purchase and government employment rights to those who qualified.
Under Article 35A, individuals present in the state before May 14, 1954, or those who had lived there for a decade since that date, were designated as permanent residents. The legislation aimed to safeguard the unique demographic makeup of the state.
However, the recent bench's ruling underscores that the law compromised the equal opportunity rights of non-residents with regard to state employment, property acquisition, and settling in Jammu and Kashmir.
The court also pointed out that the law had previously shielded the special privileges from judicial review. The ongoing proceedings involve over 20 petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and the repeal of Article 35A.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the government, remarked that the division of rights as per Article 35A was inconceivable in a constitutional democracy. Mehta noted that the government had rectified this by repealing Article 370 and Article 35A in August 2019. He emphasized the importance of learning from past errors to ensure a better future for subsequent generations.
The Solicitor General also highlighted the positive impacts of the repeal. He stated that after the removal of Article 35A, the Union Territory had experienced an increase in investments, particularly in the tourism sector.
Mehta acknowledged that there had been some misconceptions among the permanent residents about the permanence of their privileges, which the recent changes had addressed. Additionally, he mentioned a growing number of visitors to the region, with the construction of hotels and a reported 16 lakh tourists having visited Jammu and Kashmir.