New Delhi: A few days ago, the Ministry of Home Affairs made an announcement regarding the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which was passed as a law in 2019. The announcement of enactment led to multiple reactions and a lot of religious organisations and opposition parties were disappointed. Multiple petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court of India, challenging the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the Citizenship Amendment Rules. In a latest development, the apex court has asked the Central Government to file a response in the CAA Case by April 8. The next hearing of the court has been scheduled for April 9, 2024…
CAA Case: SC Asks Centre To File Response In 3 Weeks
As mentioned earlier, in the case where multiple pleas have been filed in the Supreme Court against the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the apex court has given three weeks to the Central Government, to file responses. The petitions filed against the CAA are about 237 in number and the Centre has three weeks to respond to them. The next hearing will take place on April 9, 2024.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who was appearing on behalf of the government said, “We will have to file a detailed affidavit, on merits, to 237 petitions. 20 interim applications are already filed and many are in the pipeline. Realistically, we need four weeks.”
The case was heard by a Supreme Court Bench of CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra. The petitioners including the Indian Union Muslim League, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh and Mahua Moitra of TMC, have sought a pause on the implementation of CAA because it is ‘discriminatory’ and ‘against the Muslim community’.
What Is Citizenship Amendment Act?
In the statement while enacting CAA, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said, “Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will be notifying today, the Rules under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA-2019). These rules, called the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 will enable the persons eligible under CAA-2019 to apply for grant of Indian citizenship.”
The CAA rules, introduced by the Narendra Modi government and passed by Parliament in 2019, aim to confer Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants – including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians – who migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and arrived in India before December 31, 2014.