Govt moves to scrap Article 370: All you need to know

J-K governor Satya Pal Malik had earlier dismissed reports that preparations are being made for an announcement on Article 35A and Article 370 or on the trifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir by creating three states of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.

Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday proposed the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir that grants special status to the state. This was preceded by a Cabinet meeting at Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi’s residence in the morning.

Security forces patrol in Srinagar, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019.(AP Photo)

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The announcement followed weeks of speculation after Centre took several steps to ensure tight security in the state. On Sunday night restrictions were put on leaders, schools announced shut and internet snapped.

Here is a look at Art 370 and Art 35 A and what it means:

Here is what you need to know about the articles:

Article 370 of the Constitution grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir, while Article 35A empowers the state legislature to define the state’s “permanent residents” and their special rights and privileges.

What is Article 35A?

Article 35A, which was incorporated in the Constitution by a 1954 Presidential Order, gives special rights and privileges to the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir.

It denies property rights to a woman who marries a person from outside the state. The provision, which leads to such women from the state forfeiting their right over property, also applies to their heirs.

It disallows people from outside the state from buying or owning immovable property there, settle permanently, or avail themselves of state-sponsored scholarship schemes. It also forbids the J-K government from hiring people, who are non-permanent residents.

What is Article 370?

Article 370 of the Indian Constitution is a “temporary provision” which grants special autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir has been accorded special status under Article 370 under Part XXI of the Constitution, which deals with “Temporary, Transitional and Special provisions”. All the provisions of the Constitution which are applicable to other states are not applicable to J-K.

Watch Amit Shah move resolution on Article 370:

What is the controversy?

Several petitions, including the one filed by NGO We the Citizens, have challenged Article 35A’s legality in the Supreme Court on the grounds that it was never presented before Parliament and was implemented on the President’s orders in 1954.

The provision in Article 35A that grants special rights and privileges to permanent citizens appears in the Constitution as an “appendix”, and not as an amendment.

According to the NGO, Article 35A should be held “unconstitutional” as the President could not have “amended the Constitution” by way of the 1954 order and that it was only supposed to be a “temporary provision”. The Article was never presented before Parliament and came into effect immediately.

The Jammu and Kashmir government has contested the petition, saying the President had the power to incorporate a new provision in the Constitution by way of an order.

Several petitions, including those by political parties like the National Conference and the CPI(M), were also filed in the Supreme Court in support of Article 35A that also empowers the state assembly to define “permanent residents” for bestowing special rights and privileges to them.