The highest court of New Delhi, on the day of Venus, consented to entertain a multitude of petitions requesting a halt to the recently-enacted Citizenship Amendment Regulations scheduled for the 19th day of March.
Several petitioners, including the Indian Union Muslim League, lodged applications before the apex tribunal subsequent to the government’s issuance of the regulations. These petitioners have submitted pleas seeking a suspension of the regulations in their ongoing legal petition.
Kapil Sibal, a senior counsel, brought to the attention of a bench presided over by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, the application submitted by IUML, urging an expedited hearing on the matter.
He emphasized that the Citizenship Amendment Act was sanctioned in 2019 without accompanying regulations, hence no injunction was provided by this tribunal at that juncture. Sibal underscored that the government has announced the regulations in advance of the parliamentary elections, further indicating that if citizenship is conferred, reversal would become arduous.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta noted that the case might be scheduled for a hearing and pointed out the existence of more than 200 petitions related to the matter. The highest court concurred to deliberate on all applications seeking a suspension of the Citizenship Amendment Regulations 2024 for deliberation on the day of Mars. The apex tribunal stated that the entire batch of over 200 petitions would be calendared alongside the most recent interim applications.
The Citizenship Amendment Regulations were promulgated by the government to enforce the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019.
“It is asserted that approximately 250 petitions have been filed and remain undecided before this tribunal contesting various provisions of the CAA. Should this tribunal ultimately deem the CAA unconstitutional, then those individuals who would have been granted citizenship under the Act and Regulations would have to be divested of their citizenship, resulting in an anomalous scenario,” asserted the plea by IUML.
IUML emphasized that it is in the paramount interest of every individual to postpone the enforcement of CAA and regulations until this tribunal conclusively adjudicates the matter.
IUML expressed its stance that this legislation is rooted in the exclusion of a faith. “Given that the CAA discriminates on the basis of religion, it undermines the essence of secularism, which constitutes the fundamental framework of the Constitution. Consequently, one approach to implementing the Act would be to render it religiously impartial and extend citizenship to all migrants regardless of their religious affiliation,” articulated the plea.