Supreme Court Adjourns Hearing Pleas Against Citizenship Law Till Sept 19

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned the hearing of a batch of petitions challenging the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 and posted the matter for further hearing on September 19.

A bench of Chief Justice of India UU Lalit and Justice S Ravindra Bhat was hearing at least 220 petitions challenging the CAA. The pleas against the CAA first came up for hearing in the Supreme Court on December 18, 2019.

The bill was passed by the Parliament on December 11, 2019, after which it met with protests across the country. The CAA came into effect on January 10, 2020.

Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, Congress leader Debabrata Saikia, and several NGOs and law students are among those who had filed the pleas before the Supreme Court challenging the law

In 2020, the Kerala government filed a case in the Supreme Court, becoming the first state to challenge the CAA.

The law fast-tracks the process of granting citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who fled religious persecution in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and took refuge in India on or before December 31, 2014.

The Supreme Court had earlier issued notice to the Centre and refused to pass an interim order staying the law without hearing the Centre.