Article 35A: Supreme Court adjourns hearing till Jan 19

New Delhi: Indian top court that was set to hear a bunch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Article 35A has adjourned the hearing till January. The matter was listed before a Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud. But the Jammu and Kashmir government had approached the Supreme Court seeking adjournment of hearing on Article 35A.
The Jammu and Kashmir Government had written a letter to the Registrar of the Supreme Court on August 29. Written by Jammu and Kashmir government’s standing counsel Muhammad Shoeb Alam, the letter seeks adjournment of the hearing on five petitions challenging Article 35A.
State Government had argued that a hearing on Article 35A may impact holding of upcoming local body elections in the state. The letter also states that preparation for the upcoming panchayat and urban local body and municipal elections in Jammu and Kashmir is underway and in the view of the polls, hearing on Article 35A should be deferred to avoid inconvenience to the administration.
The dates for the local body elections in Jammu and Kashmir have not been declared yet. The elections are likely to be held by the end of September.
The court listed the case for next hearing on January 19.