The Supreme Court will hear on December 9 the plea seeking provisional inclusion of pre-2014 Bangladeshi migrants in West Bengal’s SIR process. Petitioners argue earlier judgments already grant them protection, while the CJI says each case must be evaluated individually.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday heard submissions in the matter linked to the Standard Operating Procedure for the SIR process in West Bengal. When the case was called out, the counsel informed the Bench that the issue related to the SIR is scheduled to be heard on December 9.
In response, Justice Surya Kant said,
“We will take up on that day.”
The counsel then requested the court to consider an additional point. He said,
“I have a slightly different argument.”
He explained that he represents Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and other minority communities who migrated from Bangladesh. According to him, many of these people came to India long before 2014 but are still not getting legal protection under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
The counsel argued that their plea is only seeking what has already been recognised in an earlier decision.
He stated,
“I represent Hindus as well as Buddhists, Christians and others from Bangladesh. Even though they came much before 2014, they still don’t get protection under the CAA. We’re only asking for what the Basudev judgment already grants, and they should at least be provisionally included in the SIR.”
Chief Justice Surya Kant responded that citizenship cannot be assessed by distinguishing among different religious groups. He observed that the broader legal principle of deemed citizenship has to be considered carefully.
The CJI said the right may exist, but each case must still be examined individually.
He remarked,
“We cannot differentiate merely because someone is Jain, Buddhist, and so on. We have to look at the idea of deemed citizenship. The right may exist, but it must be evaluated on a case to case basis. We’ll take this up with the related matters on December 9. Notice is issued.”
The matter will now be heard along with other connected cases on December 9, when the court is expected to look at the concerns raised about protection, inclusion, and deemed citizenship for migrants who arrived before 2014.
Case Title:
Aatmadeeр v. The Unlon of India & Ors
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