No stay on Citizenship Law : Supreme Court
NEW DELHI : The Supreme court on Wednesday refused to stay the implementation of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, while postponing hearing pleas challenging the validity of the newly-minted law.
The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the centre asking it to respond to 59 petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the controversial new citizenship law.
In a brief hearing this morning a three-judge top court bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde also declined to stay implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, and said: “we will have to see whether the Act has to be stayed”. The bench – which includes Justices BR Gavai and Surya Kant – has set January 22 as the next date of hearing.
On Tuesday Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the Narendra Modi government would not back down in the face of nationwide protests.”Come what may, the Modi government will ensure these refugees get Indian citizenship and live as Indians with honour,” Mr Shah said at a rally in Delhi’s Dwarka, even as fresh protests against the law broke out in east Delhi’s Seelampur.
According to the petitions, the new Citizenship Act discriminates on the basis of religion as it makes four classifications — between Muslim migrants and non-Muslim migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Migrants from these three countries and those from other countries; between residents who migrated due to reasons of religious persecution and those who migrated due to other forms of persecution; and illegal migrants of six specified faiths from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who entered India before 31 December 2014, and those who entered India after 31 December.
The pleas have alleged that the classification based on religion violates Article 14 and Article 25, and sought the top court’s direction to strike down the amendment.
“The result of the impugned Act will be that a large number of non-Indians, who have surreptitiously entered Assam after 25.03.1971, without possession of valid passport, travel documents or other lawful authority to do so, will be able to take citizenship and reside therein”, said the All Assam Students Union in their plea.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, received President Ram Nath Kovind’s nod on 12 December, after being passed by both Houses of Parliament with a clear majority last week.
(With Agency Inputs ).
