Supreme Court to hear pleas seeking stay on citizenship amendment act (CAA) rules

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a batch of pleas seeking a stay on the recently-notified Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rules on March 19.

Various petitioners, including the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), approached the apex court after the union government notified the rules, filing interlocutory stay applications in their pending writ petitions.

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rules were introduced by the Centre to implement the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, which is the subject of numerous ongoing litigations.

IUML's application was brought to the attention of the court by senior advocate Kapil Sibal before a bench led by chief justice DY Chandrachud, who requested an urgent hearing.

Sibal argued, “The Citizenship Amendment Act was passed in 2019 without any rules in place, so no stay was granted by this court. Now, with the rules being notified ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, granting citizenship may become irreversible. Hence, the interim application should be heard.”

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta responded, “None of the petitioners has any locus to question the grant of citizenship,” leaving the listing of the case to the court's discretion.

Following this exchange, chief justice Chandrachud agreed to schedule not only IUML's application but also all other pleas seeking a stay on the Citizenship Amendment Rules 2024 for hearing on March 19.

He clarified that the entire batch of 237 petitions would be listed alongside the latest interlocutory applications.

IUML's Arguments:

IUML, represented by advocate Pallavi Pratap, has sought an immediate stay on the implementation of the CAA, challenging its linkage of citizenship to religion as “prima facie unconstitutional”.

In its application filed on March 12, IUML argued that the act's religious-based classification undermines the secular fabric of the Indian Constitution.

The party emphasized that while it supports granting citizenship to migrants, it vehemently opposes religion-based exclusion.

IUML also expressed concerns that individuals granted citizenship under the act may face revocation if the law is later declared unconstitutional.

Moreover, IUML urged the Supreme Court to direct the government not to take coercive action against individuals excluded from the CAA based on religion and requested provisional permission for Muslim community members to apply for citizenship pending the court's decision.

Background:

The legal battle stems from the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act 2019, which aims to expedite Indian citizenship for non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who entered India before December 31, 2014.

The act faced widespread protests and legal challenges due to its religious-based criteria.

On March 11, the government notified the rules to implement the act, triggering a flurry of legal challenges, including those from IUML, DYFI, AASU, and opposition leaders from Assam, citing concerns about its compatibility with constitutional provisions and the Assam Accord.