New Delhi, February 19 The Supreme Court on Thursday said that it will commence the final hearing on May 5 over 200 petitions, including the lead one filed by the Indian Union of Muslim League (IUML) challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA).
The CAA seeks to grant citizenship to migrants belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Jain, and Parsi communities who came to the country from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalaya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi issued procedural directions with regard to the final hearings on the petitions, which have been pending since 2019-2020.
The bench said it will hear the petitioners, including the lead petitioner, the Indian Union of Muslim League (IUML), for one and a half days, and the Centre will be given a day to present its arguments.
The CJI said the bench would conclude the hearing on the petitions on May 12.
The bench asked the parties to file additional documents and submissions within four weeks.
The bench said it will first hear the petitions related to the pan-India application of the CAA and then address the petitions pertaining to Assam and Tripura later.
