No Stay on CAA: SC, Gives Centre Four Weeks to Respond

New Delhi: The Supreme Court today ruled that it will not grant stay on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) without hearing the version of the Centre on the matter.

Hearing around 140 petitions against the contentious Act, the apex court bench said it may refer the pleas to a larger constitutional bench.

It has also given the Centre four weeks to reply on the pleas.

A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde, said that interim order on CAA petitions will be heard by a five-judge constitution bench.

The list of petitioners includes several political parties — the chief of them being the Congress, the DMK, CPI, CPM, Indian Union Muslim League or IUML, Asaduddin Owasi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen and Kamal Hassan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam.

The petitions contend that the new law is illegal and stands against the basic structure of the Constitution. They also say the law is against the right to equality as it will grant citizenship on the basis of religion. Some of the petitions have also sought a freeze on the legislation which came into force on January 10.

The CAA seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslim migrants belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Jain and Parsi communities who came to the country from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014.