New Delhi, February 19 The Supreme Court said on Thursday that it will commence the final hearing on May 5 regarding over 200 petitions, including the main one filed by the Indian Union of Muslim League (IUML) challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA).
The CAA aims 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 regarding the final hearings on the petitions, which have been pending since 2019-2020.
The bench said it will hear the petitioners, including the leader of 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 will 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 take note of the petitions pertaining to Assam and Tripura later.
It said that the problem in Assam is different from the rest of the country as the earlier cut-off date for citizenship was March 24, 1971, which under the CAA was extended to December 31, 2014.
These matters were last listed before a bench on March 19, 2024, when it asked the Centre to respond to interim applications seeking a stay on the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024, until the apex court disposes of the petitions challenging the validity of the law.
However, the apex court refused to stay the operation of the Rules that would give effect to the CAA, as sought by a battery of senior advocates representing the petitioners.
The Centre on March 11, 2024, paved the way for the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, with the notification of the relevant rules, four years after the contentious law was passed by Parliament to fast-track Indian citizenship for undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014.
The President gave his assent to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 on December 12 that year, turning it into an Act.
Over 200 petitions were filed challenging the constitutional validity of the CAA.
Among those who have filed petitions are the IUML, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, RJD leader Manoj Jha, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi.