A shutdown was observed in Srinagar and parts of the Kashmir Valley on Monday amid reports that the Supreme Court was hearing a fresh petition on scrapping Article 35A of the Constitution, which gives the Jammu and Kashmir legislature the power to define “permanent residents” of the state and provide them with special rights and privileges.

The Supreme Court, however, did not take up the plea filed by Ashwani Upadhyay after the petitioner moved an adjournment request, reported Greater Kashmir. Upadhyay is a Bharatiya Janata Party leader and a lawyer. The plea was filed on August 14.

At least 12 people were injured after clashes broke out between security forces and protestors in many parts of the Valley on Monday, PTI reported. In Srinagar, most shops in the commercial hub of Lal Chowk were closed, but public transport was working. Clashes were also reported in Anantnag’s Lal Chowk area and near Jamia Masjid in Shopian town. In Kulgam district, security forces baton charged a group of protesting students from Kulgam Degree College, and fired teargas shells. The police even fired pellets at protestors in some places, PTI reported.

Responding to rumours, the Jammu and Kashmir Police clarified: “Some sections of media circulated news regarding scrapping of Article 35A. The news is refuted as baseless. people are requested to maintain calm [and] not to pay heed to rumour”. The police reiterated that the main hearing is on August 31.

In all, four petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court challenging 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 petitioners argue that the state became an “integral part of India” when it acceded to the Union, so there is no question of special status or treatment.

The Supreme Court had listed the main petitions for hearing on Sunday, prompting Kashmiri separatists to call a two-day strike on Sunday and Monday. The strike was postponed after the court deferred the hearing to Friday, August 31.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Saifuddin Soz said an all-party delegation from the state should meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urge the Centre to argue for keeping Article 35A during hearings in the top court, PTI reported.

Soz criticised the government for “watching the situation from a distance” and said the people of Kashmir have shown a unique sense of solidarity on the matter. “It is a heartening situation that certain sections of society in Jammu and Ladakh have also realized that Article 35A cannot be abrogated,” he added.

The court had earlier adjourned hearing on May 14 and then again on August 6. On August 6, the state government had urged the Supreme Court to adjourn the matter, citing potential law-and-order problems and upcoming panchayat and local body elections in the state.

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

Various groups in the state have staged protests and rallies against the petitions this month. The National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party held separate rallies in the first week of August. A traders’ organisation also organised a rally while separatist leaders observed a shutdown on August 5 and 6.