SC seeks Centre's reply on pleas against CAA, hearing on Oct 31

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 12

The Supreme Court today asked the Centre to file “appropriate responses” to more than 200 petitions challenging the validity of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, after categorising them into different segments and posted the matter for further hearing on October 31.

A two-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India UU Lalit — which took up the petitions — said the matter would be heard by a three-judge Bench.

Noting that several issues have been raised in the petitions, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said it would need time to prepare for the hearing as certain Constitution Bench matters were also going on.

“Our reply is filed so far as some amendments and challenges are concerned. In some of the matters, our reply is yet to be filed,” Mehta told the Bench.

The Bench asked the office of the Solicitor General to prepare in four weeks a complete list of matters in different segments depending on the challenge raised in the petitions.

The Bench noted that in terms of its January 22, 2020, order matters coming from Assam and the North-East had already been directed to be segregated.

There are more than 200 PILs challenging the CAA that led to violent protests in which around 20 persons were killed in Uttar Pradesh and dozens of others injured, including in Delhi.

Passed by Parliament on December 11, 2019, the CAA was notified on January 10. It relaxes norms for grant of Indian citizenship by naturalisation to Hindu, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist and Jain and Parsi victims of religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who came to India before December 31, 2014.

The top court had, on January 22, refused to stay the operation of the CAA and the National Population Register (NPR) and said that ultimately a five-judge Bench might have to decide these issues. Acting on a transfer petition by the Central government, it had restrained all high courts from passing any orders on the CAA.

The petitioners included the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, Congress leader and former Union minister Jairam Ramesh, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, NGOs Rihai Manch and Citizens Against Hate, Assam Advocates’ Association and several law students. In 2020, the Kerala Government had also filed a suit against the CAA.

The petitioners contended that grant of citizenship based on religion was against the basic structure of the Constitution.

3-judge bench to hear matter

A two-judge SC Bench said the matter would be heard by a three-judge Bench. The SC Bench has asked the office of the Solicitor General to prepare in four weeks a complete list of matters in different segments depending on the challenge raised in the petitions.

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