SC to hear pleas challenging Citizenship Amendment Act from May 5

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear the petitions challenging the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, from May 5, 2026.

On Thursday, a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Pancholi took up the matter for procedural directions and posted the matter for the second week of May. The case had last been listed nearly two years ago, on March 19, 2024.

Senior Advocate Indira Jaising urged the Court to hear petitions concerning Assam and other North-Eastern states separately, citing issues related to Section 6A of the Citizenship Act and the Inner Line Permit. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the bench that, as per an order passed in January 2020, matters concerning Assam and Tripura were to be categorised separately from the rest.

The Chief Justice indicated that petitions relating to the rest of the country would be heard first, followed by those concerning Assam and Tripura.

The Court directed that petitioners will be heard on May 5 and during the first half of May 6. The respondents will present arguments during the latter half of May 6 and on May 7, with rejoinder submissions scheduled for May 12.

The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, provides a pathway to Indian citizenship for non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who entered India without valid travel documents before December 31, 2014. Such individuals are not treated as “illegal migrants” and are eligible to apply for citizenship.

The legislation has been challenged on constitutional grounds for excluding Muslims from its ambit and for not extending similar consideration to refugees from other neighbouring countries. In March 2024, the Union government notified the rules for implementing the CAA and set up committees at the state and Union Territory levels to process applications under the Act. Although the CAA Rules, 2024, were also challenged, the Court has not yet heard those petitions.

Petitioners from Assam have argued that the CAA violates the Assam Accord. The State of Kerala has also filed an original suit challenging the validity of the law.

The Union government has defended the Act by stating that it does not impact the citizenship status of any existing Indian citizen, and that the under-inclusion of certain groups in granting a concession does not, by itself, amount to a violation of Article 14 of the Constitution.

(With Live Law inputs)