New Delhi:

Amid the controversy surrounding the Centre’s move to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) just weeks ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Supreme Court will today hear a batch of 237 petitions challenging the law. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra will hear the case.

The petitioners include the Indian Muslim League (IUML), the main political party based in Kerala, the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, Trinamool leader Mahua Moi Mahua Moitra and AIMIM Chairman Asaduddin Owaisi.

A day after the Center notified the CAA rules, the two organizations approached the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the implementation of the law. They called the CAA “discriminatory” against the Muslim community.

Back in 2019, when the Citizenship Amendment Bill was passed in Parliament, several petitions were received against the bill. However, the court did not stay enforcement of the rules because they had not yet been notified. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal told the court on Friday that since there was no notice rule, there was no question of suspension at the time. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta later said the fact that the rules were notified before the elections is irrelevant.

Under the law, non-Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan fleeing religious persecution can seek Indian citizenship. People from the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Zoroastrian or Christian communities from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who entered India on or before December 31, 2014, are eligible to apply for citizenship under the CAA.

The opposition has slammed the Narendra Modi government over the timing of the law – four years after it was passed by Parliament. Party leader Jairam Ramesh said the move was “clearly aimed at polarizing the elections, especially in West Bengal and Assam”.

Trinamool Congress president and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she doubted the legality of the CAA and claimed it was a conspiracy to “seize civil rights”. “BJP leaders say CAA gives you rights. But the moment you apply for citizenship, you become an illegal immigrant and you will lose your rights. You will lose your rights and be taken to detention camps. Please think twice before applying ,”she says.

The center refuted the opposition’s allegations. Home Minister Amit Shah stressed that the CAA was not “unconstitutional” and accused the opposition of resorting to “politics of lies”. On the timing of implementation of the law, he said, “The BJP in its 2019 manifesto clearly stated that it will introduce CAA and provide Indian citizenship to refugees (from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan). The BJP has a clear agenda, In line with this commitment, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament in 2019. The bill was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

He also said the country’s minorities “have nothing to fear as the CAA does not provide for taking back the rights of any citizen”.