3 months ago
2
The Supreme Court connected Thursday (February 19, 2026) scheduled the last proceeding from May 5 successful implicit 250 petitions challenging the arguable Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 and its Rules, which accelerate the assistance of Indian citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said the tribunal would perceive the lawsuit backmost to backmost from May 5 till May 7 and instrumentality it up again connected May 12 to perceive immoderate rejoinder arguments earlier reserving judgment.
The tribunal said it would archetypal perceive the “general” CAA petitions and past analyse the analyzable issues concerning the citizenship instrumentality successful Assam and Tripura.
A radical of petitions person contended that the CAA and its Rules were a menace to Assam’s demography. The petitions person contended that 27 districts successful Assam were brought nether the purview of the CAA “for nary crushed astatine all”. They person argued that the CAA did not use to tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram oregon Tripura included successful the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution and the areas covered nether ‘The Inner Line’ notified nether the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873. They said the cut-off day of December 31, 2014 for assistance of citizenship nether Section 6B(1) of the CAA contradicted Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, which mandated deportation for foreigners who had crossed implicit aft March 25, 1971.
The lawsuit had past travel up successful March 2024 earlier a Bench led by past Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud.
Senior advocator Kapil Sibal, for the petitioners, had past argued that the Act came into beingness successful 2019 and the authorities had waited for astir 5 years to notify the Rules.
“Once the process of assistance of citizenship starts nether this Act, it cannot beryllium reversed,” Mr. Sibal had submitted successful an oral mentioning.
Mr. Sibal represents the Indian Union Muslim League, a governmental enactment besides represented by advocator Haris Beeran. The League is the superior petitioner successful the pb case, which has 237 abstracted petitions challenging the legality of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 connected the crushed that it discriminates successful granting citizenship connected the ground of religion. The Democratic Youth Federation of India, represented by advocator Subhash Chandran K.R., has besides filed an exertion seeking an interim enactment connected the implementation of the law.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appears for the Union government. The Centre had challenged the locus standi of the petitioners to question whether the Centre could assistance citizenship.
The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) had argued that the Rules, which govern the existent implementation of the CAA astatine the crushed level, facilitate a highly truncated and fast-tracked process for assistance of citizenship to “illegal migrants” belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh oregon Pakistan who entered India connected oregon earlier December 31, 2014.
The Rules had done distant with the autarkic and tiered scrutiny of applications by District Collectors connected the crushed and the recommendations of State governments connected the contented of granting citizenship to applicants. The Citizenship Rules of 2009 had required the Centre to consult State governments successful the assistance of citizenship process.
“The scrutiny of the exertion for registration oregon naturalisation was held astatine 3 levels - the Collector, the State authorities and the Central government. It is yet the Central authorities that made the determination to assistance citizenship,” IUML submitted.
The CAA Rules, 2024 assistance the powerfulness of scrutiny to a ‘District Level Committee’ to verify documents and administer the oath of allegiance. An ‘Empowered Committee’ has been authorised to scrutinise citizenship applications, but this is not mandatory. Even the creation of the Empowered Committee is defined successful the Rules, the IUML had noted.
“There is nary scope for the State authorities to springiness recommendations oregon for the Central authorities to behaviour an enquiry astir the suitability of the applicant,” it had submitted.
The petitioners chopped crossed governmental enactment lines and travel from assorted walks of beingness crossed the country. They see parliamentarians specified arsenic Jairam Ramesh, Mahua Moitra and Asaduddin Owaisi, the Asom Gana Parishad, an relation of lawyers from Assam, Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam and Kerala’s IUML.
The petitions person argued that the instrumentality welcomes “illegal migrants” into India selectively connected the ground of their religion and excludes Muslims. They contend that it has an “unholy nexus” with the National Register of Citizens workout and is against the principles of secularism, close to equality and dignity of beingness enshrined successful the basal operation of the Constitution.
“While the NRC workout would effect successful recognition of persons arsenic “illegal migrants”, the Amendment Act seeks to simultaneously connection amerciable migrants who are Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi oregon Christian citizenship connected the presumed crushed of persecution,” Mr. Owaisi contended.
The caller citizenship instrumentality accelerated tracks citizenship by naturalisation for number Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi oregon Christian migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who entered India illegally claiming spiritual persecution successful their autochthonal countries.
However, the instrumentality does not enforce immoderate request connected amerciable migrants from the six religions to beryllium their assertion of spiritual persecution oregon adjacent a tenable fearfulness of it.
The petitions person argued that the authorities effectuates favoritism connected the ground of the intrinsic and halfway individuality of an individual, that is, spiritual individuality arsenic a Muslim.
The Act ensures that lone an amerciable migrant who is Muslim would beryllium singled retired and prosecuted nether the Passports (Entry into India) Act, 1920 oregon the Foreigners Order, 1949 and deprived of idiosyncratic liberty. On the different hand, amerciable migrants from the six religions would beryllium entitled to Indian citizenship and the benefits that travel with it. While Muslim migrants would person to amusement impervious of residency successful India for astatine slightest 11 years, the instrumentality allows amerciable migrants from the six communities to beryllium naturalised successful 5 years.
