The Supreme Court on Monday will resume hearing petitions challenging the legality of Article 35A of the Constitution that grants special rights and privileges to permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir.

The main petitioner, the NGO We The Citizens, on Sunday said it would urge the court to let a Constitution bench hear the matter, PTI reported. A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud is considering the pleas at present.

Four petitions have challenged the legality of Article 35A on the grounds that it was never presented before Parliament and was implemented on the President’s orders in 1954. The pleas argued that the state became an “integral part of India” once it acceded to the Union, so there was no question of special status or treatment.

Protests have erupted in the state in the last few days against the petitions. On Friday, the state government approached the Supreme Court, urging it to adjourn the hearing of the pleas, citing potential law and order troubles. The matter was adjourned in May.

The National Conference filed an intervention plea in the top court on Friday, requesting that it be included as a respondent in the case, while state unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has also moved the court in support of the law.

The National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party on Saturday held separate rallies in the state. A traders’ organisation also conducted a rally on Saturday. Separatist leaders observed a shutdown on Sunday that is likely to continue on Monday.