Today,19th April, The Supreme Court requesting a response regarding the labeling of CAA rules as “Anti-Constitutional.” The petitioners argue that the rules violate fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution. This move comes amidst ongoing debates and legal challenges surrounding the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The Court aims to address concerns of constitutionality and fairness in its upcoming rulings.
New Delhi: On Friday, the Supreme Court (SC) asked for replies from the Centre and the Assam government regarding a petition challenging the 2024 Citizenship (Amendment) Rules. These rules intend to manage granting Indian citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan before December 31, 2014.
The SC bench, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala, acknowledged a lawyer’s arguments representing petitioner Hiren Gohain from Guwahati. Consequently, the bench served notices to the state government, Home Ministry, and Ministry of External Affairs. The court also decided to consolidate this plea with other pending cases related to the CAA matter.
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Gohain’s plea stated,
“The unrestricted flow of undocumented migrants from Bangladesh into Assam has led to significant demographic shifts. The native population, once the predominant group, has now become a minority in their own homeland.”
While not stopping the enforcement of the CAA Rules, the current judicial panel has instructed the Centre to handle requests seeking a temporary suspension of their implementation until the apex court rules on petitions challenging the validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019.
In his petition, Gohain argues that the CAA Rules of 2024 “ultra vires to the Constitution,” contending that they are,
“Patently discriminatory, evidently arbitrary, unlawful, and contravene the fundamental structure of the Constitution.”
The plea further notes,
“The challenged Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024, are alleged to infringe upon the petitioners’ fundamental rights as guaranteed under Articles 14 (right to equality), 15 (right against discrimination based on religion, race, caste, etc.), 19 (freedom of speech and expression), 21 (right to life and personal liberty), etc., of the Constitution.”
Gohain emphasized that he filed the plea personally and also on behalf of a substantial segment of the indigenous population in Assam, with the goal of protecting their fundamental rights.
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Emphasizing the urgent issue of the “unchecked” influx of illegal migrants from Bangladesh into Assam, the plea highlighted that this is not solely a communal issue.
The statement reads,
“It is not a matter of Hindu-Muslim divide or indigenous versus Bengali immigrant conflict. Instead, it concerns foreign infiltrators, regardless of their religion, inundating land that has historically belonged to Assam’s indigenous people. In essence, it is a matter between Indians and non-Indians/foreigners, carrying significant national importance.”
As per the 2011 census, Assam’s population approximately 3.21 crores, of which only 1.34 crores indigenous Assamese. This count includes Assamese Muslims and indigenous people from various tribes like Bodo, Missing, Rabha, Karbi, etc. Additionally, there are around 48 lakh individuals from the tea tribes.
It further added,
“The combined total of these figures is approximately 1.82 crores. A significant portion of the remaining Assam population mainly consists of Bengali-speaking Hindus and Muslims, with a smaller segment comprising Hindi speakers and others who have migrated from different states of India.”