Guwahati: The Supreme Court will hear several petitions questioning the 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act’s (CAA) constitutionality on Monday.
The petitions will be heard by a bench that includes Chief Justice of India (CJI) UU Lalit and Justices Ravindra Bhat and Bela M Trivedi.
The petitions opposing the modification were submitted by the AASU, Yuva Chatra Parishad and numerous other Assamese citizens.
It should be noted that the CAA passed on December 12, 2019 modifies the definition of “illegal migrants” under Section 2 of the Citizenship Act of 1955.
The amendment states that people from Pakistan, Afghanistan, or Bangladesh who were granted an exemption by the Central Government under the Passport (Entry to India) Act of 1920 or the Foreigners Act of 1946 and who are members of Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian communities will not be regarded as “illegal migrants.”
According to the 1955 act, these people may petition for citizenship.
Widespread protests were sparked by the amended act’s explicit exclusion of the Muslim community from the proviso.
A bench headed by the then-CJI SA Bobde published a notice in the petitions in January 2020.
In response to the petitions, the Center stated that the act is a “benign legislation” with a specific objective and should not be merged outside of that scope.
A new affidavit was also submitted on Sunday as a result of a CJI directive.