The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court will begin hearing a batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370and the reorganisation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories (the ‘Abrogation-Reorganisation Petitions’) from December 10. The matter was listed for hearing on Thursday but the top court postponed the hearing in the case till December 10.

It may be recalled that a batch of petitions had been filedin the top court by leading Kashmiri politicians and activists challenging the Centre's August 5 move to abrogate Article 370 that gave special status to the former state of Jammu and Kashmir.

In its October 24 order, the Supreme Court had said that the petitions challenging the validity of provisions of Article 370, which wasabrogated by the Centre on August 5, and Article 35-A would be dealt with byits 5-judge Constitution bench which is hearing the Kashmir matter.

The five-judge constitution bench had on October 1 givenfour weeks to the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir administration to filecounter-affidavits on the petitions and had also put an embargo on filing ofany fresh writ petition challenging the constitutional validity on abrogationof Article 370.Some of the petitioners had then told the constitution benchthat they have filed pleas challenging the existence of provisions of Articles370 and 35-A according special status to J&K before the Centre came out withthe decision to abrogate them.

NGO ‘We The Citizens’ had filed a petition in the apex courtin 2014 challenging the constitutional validity of Article 35A. Later, sixother pleas were filed in the top court on the issue.The top court had thendismissed the pleas and directed the petitioners to move the high court.Article35A, which was incorporated in the Constitution by a 1954 Presidential Order,accorded special rights and privileges to the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir andbars people from outside the state from acquiring any immovable property in thestate.

It denied property rights to a woman who marries a personfrom outside the state. The provision, which leads to such women from the stateforfeiting their right over property, also applied to their heirs.

However, after the Centre's move to scrap the Article 370,the provisions of Article 35A became null and void and all central rules becameapplicable in J&K afte it was formally split in two Union Territories onOctober 31.