New Delhi: The Supreme Court issued a notice to the central government on Tuesday, directing it to respond to a series of petitions challenging the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) of 2019 and the recently introduced Citizenship Amendment Rules of 2024 by April 8th.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Although the petitioners urged for an immediate stay on the Citizenship Amendment Rules, 2024, the court refrained from passing such an order at this stage.
- Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the government, requested additional time from a bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud to respond to the 20 applications seeking a stay on the Citizenship Amendment Rules.
- These applications seek to halt the implementation of the Rules until the Supreme Court resolves the petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.
- Earlier on March 11, the Union Home Ministry officially released the rules for the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) almost four years after its passing in the Parliament.
- The Citizenship Amendment Act, passed by the Modi government in 2019, aims to grant Indian citizenship to persecuted migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014.
- It seeks to offer refuge to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians who faced religious persecution in their home countries.
