WHAT IS CAA (CITIZENSHIP AMENDMENT ACT)

 On March 11, 2024, the Centre notified the Rules for the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), setting the stage for the implementation of the controversial law more than four years after its passage in Parliament in December 2019. The CAA aims to provide citizenship to thousands of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, or Christian migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who entered India before December 31, 2014, and have been living in the country illegally or on long-term visas (LTV).

Citizenship Amendment Act: Legal issues and status of judicial proceedings | Explained

With the Centre notifying the rules for the implementation of the CAA four years after its enactment, The Hindu revisits the challenge to the law, the status of proceedings before the Supreme Court and the expected changes.

AARATRIKA BHAUMIK

CPI-ML leaders stage a protest after the central government notified the rules for implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, in Kolkata, on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. 

CPI-ML leaders stage a protest after the central government notified the rules for implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, in Kolkata, on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. | Photo Credit: Swapan Mahapatra

The story so far: Four years after the Parliament passed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) notified the rules to implement the law on March 11.

The contentious law fast-tracks citizenship to undocumented immigrants from six non-Muslim communities — Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi, Christian and Jain — from the neighbouring countries of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The rules state that the applicants must provide six types of documents and specify “date of entry” in India to be eligible for citizenship.

Although the Act was passed on December 11, 2019, and received assent from the President on December 12 of the same year, it could not be implemented since the rules were not framed. The MHA had earlier notified that the Act would come into force from January 10, 2020, but later sought at least 10 extensions from the Parliamentary Committee on Subordinate Legislation to frame the rules.