New Delhi: Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, heading the five-judge Constitution Bench hearing the slew of petitions challenging the reading down of Article 370 said that Article 35A empowered the Jammu and Kashmir Legislature to define permanent residents of the State and provide them with special privileges denied fundamental rights to others.
“Article 35A gave special rights and privileges to permanent residents and virtually took away the rights of non-residents. These rights included the right to equal opportunity of state employment, right to acquire property and right to settle in Jammu and Kashmir”, said Chief Justice Chandrachud, heading the Constitution Bench.
The bench also asked Attorney General R. Venkataramani to look into the suspension of Zahoor Ahmad Bhat, a senior lecturer of political science four days after he pleaded against the centre;s move to abrogate Article 370 before the apex court.
CJI also emphasized that the current Union government cannot distance itself from its predecessors. The decision given on August 5, 2019, was an attempt to correct the mistakes of the predecessor governments. Mehta had told the court that safai karamcharis brought to J&K were not entitled to permanent status despite residing in the state for deveral decades.
The senior counsel Kapil Sibal referred Jawaharlal Nehru’s defence of restrictions on outsiders, Mehta suggested it was a mistake that deprived state of investments.