The CAA was passed by the parliament on December 11, 2019 and got the President’s assent the following day. On the same day, IUML moved the Supreme Court to challenge the same. Subsequently, a large number of petitions came to be filed.
The CAA and Rules aim to grant citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Parsis who arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014, from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
The CAA amends Section 2 of the Citizenship Act of 1955 which defines “illegal migrants”.
It added a new proviso to Section 2(1)(b) of the Citizenship Act. As per the same, persons belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, and who have been exempted by the Central government under the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, or the Foreigners Act, 1946, shall not be treated as “illegal migrant”. Consequently, such persons shall be eligible to apply for citizenship under the 1955 Act.
However, the law specifically excludes the Muslim community from the proviso, triggering protests across the country and a slew of petitions before the Supreme Court.
The petitioners challenging the law have submitted that the CAA discriminates against Muslims on the basis of religion. Such religious segregation is without any reasonable differentiation and violates right to quality under Article 14, it has been contended.
On December 18, 2019, the apex court had issued notice to the Union of India on that challenge.
But the Court had not stayed the law since the Rules were not notified which meant that the Act remained in limbo.
However, in a sudden move, the Central government on March 11 this year notified the rules, which effectively brought into force the CAA.
This led to a slew of applications before the Court seeking a stay on the Act and Rules.
Source: Barandbench
