Domicile law to benefit J&K women married to outsiders

New Delhi, 1-Oct-2020

For the first time after 1947, children of Kashmiri women, married outside the union territory (UT) will soon be entitled to all benefits otherwise enjoyed by permanent residents. This includes government jobs and acquisition of immovable properties, by virtue of becoming qualified for a domicile certificate. Until August 2019, when the Jammu and Kashmir Re-organisation Act was made in Parliament and Article 35A withdrawn by a Presidential order, only the permanent residents of the erstwhile state were entitled to get government jobs and scholarships. Besides, only the permanent residents were eligible to acquire land. After the abrogation of Article 370, a number of laws and rules were either repealed or drastically amended to ensure that people, including the women of the Valley who married outside J&K, were equally eligible for these entitlements. Consequent upon these changes in these rules in the last one year, permanent residents of J&K, those who lived in the erstwhile state for 15 years, Central Government employees having worked there for 10 years, and students having passed Class X or XII examination within the Valley have the right to government jobs in the UT. They will be eligible for scholarships and acquisition of immovable properties. Besides, children born to mothers who were married outside J&K had to hitherto produce domicile certificates of their �parents�. Often they faced procedural issues while obtaining the document.
According to government sources in the Departments of Law and General Administration, the amendment in the rules will also benefit non-J&K women who are married to Kashmiri men. Officials said these proposed amendments would be made next month.