NEW DELHI: A three-judge constitutional bench of the Supreme Court ( SC ) will on Friday hear a legal challenge regarding to constitutional validity of Article 35A which bars non-residents of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) from purchasing land in the state. Similar hearings have been adjourned twice this month. Life in Kashmir came to a standstill on Thursday due to a complete shutdown called by separatists against the legal challenge in the SC on the validity of Article 35A.What exactly does this Article entail and how did the case come to the Supreme Court? Here's all you need to know:- Article 35A of the Constitution empowers the J&K legislature to define the state's 'permanent residents' and their special rights and privileges. It was added to the Constitution through a presidential order of 1954 with the then J&K government's concurrence.- The Article, often referred to as the Permanent Residents law, prohibits non-permanent residents from permanent settlement in the state, acquiring immovable property, government jobs, scholarships and aid.- Some interpret the Article as discriminatory against J&K women, because it disqualifies them from their state subject rights if they married non-permanent residents. But, in a landmark judgment in October 2002, the J&K high court held that women married to non-permanent residents will not lose their rights. The children of such women however don't have succession rights.- An NGO, We the Citizens, challenged 35A in the SC in 2014 on the grounds that it was not added to the Constitution through an amendment under Article 368. It was never presented before Parliament, and came into effect immediately, the group argued.- In another case in the SC last year in July, two Kashmiri women argued that the state's laws, flowing from 35A, had disenfranchised their children.-Responding to their plea, the apex court sent notices to the Centre and state in July 2017. Advocate General K Venugopal told the bench of the then Chief Justice of India (CJI) J S Khehar and Justice D Y Chandrachud that the petition against Article 35A raised "very sensitive" questions that required a "larger debate".-On May 14 this year, the SC deferred hearing on the petitions challenging Article 35A. The Centre told the bench that the matter is very sensitive and since the interlocutor is making efforts for a solution, the court should not pass any interim order at present as it would be counterproductive.-Representing the J&K government, advocate Rakesh Dwivedi said SC has already settled the issue by ruling that Article 370 of the Constitution has already attained permanent status. "In any event as the issue required interpretation of various constitutional provisions, let there be no interim order," Dwivedi appealed to the bench.- Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, counsel to a petitioner, countered and said: "It is a strange situation in J&K as persons from Pakistan can come and settle in the state under a law but those who have been staying for generations cannot even get a government job."-The SC then deferred the hearing to August 6, then again to August 27 and then August 31.- Meanwhile, the Article has been criticised by the BJP as a provision that encourages alienation, deepens the concept of a separate identity and creates a political gap between J&K and the rest of India. "Article 35A is a constitutional mistake. It was incorporated through a presidential order and not through the parliamentary process," said Surinder Amabardar of the state BJP last year.-Those in favour of retaining Article 35A fear that its repeal would lead to further erosion of J&K's autonomy and trigger demographic change in the Muslim majority valley. Some political parties say the Kashmir resolution lies in greater autonomy, even as separatists fan paranoia about the possibility of Hindus 'flooding' the valley. PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti last year asserted Article 35A should not be tinkered with, saying there would be no one to hold the tricolour if provisions regarding special status to J&K residents were altered.- Life in Kashmir came to a standstill on Thursday due to a complete shutdown called by separatists against the legal challenge in the Supreme Court on the validity of Article 35A, which bars people from outside Jammu and Kashmir from acquiring any immovable property in the state, reported news agency PTI. The situation across the valley was peaceful with no untoward incident reported from anywhere so far, officials said. Shops, business establishments and educational institutions were closed across the Valley while all kinds of transport remained off the roads due to the strike called. The Joint Resistance Leadership has called for a two-day strike - Thursday and Friday.