Author: Aarti Dhar
Publication: The Hindu
Date: June 19, 2003
URL: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2003/06/19/stories/2003061903151200.htm
Bowing to political pressure, the
Jammu and Kashmir Government has filed a Special Leave Petition in the
Supreme Court challenging the High Court judgment that allows women to
retain their status of "Permanent Resident Status" (PRS) of Jammu and Kashmir
even on marrying a non State-subject.
A woman lost her PRS and thereby
the right to inherit property, get Government jobs and other privileges
- granted to a State-subject under the State Constitution - if she married
a non State-subject.
A Full Bench of the Jammu and Kashmir
High Court had on October 7, 2002, in a landmark decision held that a daughter
of a permanent resident marrying a non- permanent resident would not lose
the status of permanent resident of the State. However, the Government
had not issued the mandatory "notification" on the High Court judgment
owing to stiff opposition from political parties which felt that it would
"dilute the special status granted to the State under Article 370."
"We have already filed an SLP in
the Supreme Court to challenge the judgment,'' the Advocate-General of
J&K, Altaf Naik, told The Hindu. The judgment would be challenged on
the ground that the State Legislature has the power under Section 8 of
the State Constitution to make any law defining the classes of persons
who are or shall be permanent residents of the State or any Bill making
provision for defining or altering the definition of permanent residents
and conferring, regulating or modifying on permanent residents any special
rights or privileges. The law will have to be passed by either House of
the legislature by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the total
membership as required under the State Constitution.
Besides Indian citizenship, the
people in Jammu and Kashmir have also been granted the PRS if their ancestors
had lived there for at least 10 years prior to May 14, 1954, when the Constitution
Order (applicable to Jammu and Kashmir) was promulgated by the President
under Article 370 before the State Constitution was adopted in 1956, apart
from those who are natural or "hereditary" residents of the State.
Only those who have a PRS can buy
property, get employment or are entitled to special privileges. As per
the interpretation, any woman who married a non-State subject lost the
status of permanent resident and hence, was deprived of inheriting property
or enjoying the privileges. The petitioners also questioned the legality
of the entry "valid before marriage" made on the permanent resident certificates
of women, describing it as violative of their fundamental right guaranteed
under Indian Constitution and "discriminatory'' on the basis of sex.
