The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday asked the government to file a response on a batch of over 200 pleas seeking a stay on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019.
The pleas contend that the Act violates the Constitution by not making Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan eligible for citizenship. The law, which was passed by Parliament on December 11, 2019, will enable the government to grant Indian nationality to persecuted religious minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who entered the country before December 31, 2014.
The government has notified the rules for implementing the law only now, four years and three months after its passage. This has led to confusion among the people.
The Supreme Court has asked the government to file a response to the pleas by April 9.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought time to file a response. He told the Supreme Court that 236 petitions and many applications have been filed. He said that the government does not have an infrastructure in place to get the process going.
The Supreme Court said that the government should make a statement that no one will be granted citizenship under the law till the petitions are decided. Mehta said that such a statement cannot be made.
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The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) is leading the charge against the CAA and has a case pending on the matter. The League has asked the Supreme Court to observe that all citizenships granted will be granted subject to the outcome of the case. However, the Supreme Court said that the government does not even have an infrastructure in place to get the process going.
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