The Supreme Court of India has requested responses from the Centre and the Assam government regarding a petition challenging the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules of 2024. These rules aim to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim migrants who arrived from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan before December 31, 2014.
The SC bench, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala, acknowledged a submission from a lawyer representing the petitioner, Hiren Gohain, a resident of Guwahati. The bench issued notices to the state government, the Home Ministry, and the Ministry of External Affairs.
The court stated that the petition would be consolidated with other pending petitions related to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Although the court did not stop the implementation of the CAA Rules, it directed the Centre to address requests for suspending their implementation until the court decides on the constitutionality of the CAA.
Gohain’s petition argues that the CAA Rules of 2024 are “ultra vires to the Constitution” and “patently discriminatory, arbitrary, and unlawful,” violating Articles 14, 15, 19, and 21 of the Constitution. He claims that the rules infringe on the fundamental rights of the indigenous population of Assam.
The petition emphasizes the demographic changes in Assam due to the “uncontrolled influx” of illegal migrants from Bangladesh, stating that this is an issue of “foreign infiltrators” and not just a communal matter. The petitioner underscores the importance of addressing the concerns of indigenous people in the region.
The Modi government unveiled the rules on March 11, just before the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections, and they took effect immediately. The CAA, which sparked widespread protests in late 2019 and early 2020, remains a controversial issue nationwide.
