TheSupreme Court on Friday agreed to hear the government's plea seeking transferof all matters related to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act pending before HighCourts to the top court. The court issued orders to all petitioners and islikely to hear the matter on January 22.
SolicitorGeneral Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre earlier, told a bench headed byChief Justice of India S A Bobde that there was a possibility that High Courtsmay give different orders which will create confusion, adding that there werealready about 60 petitions challenging the Act pending before the top court.
However,the bench said that the court was of the prima facie view that the High Courtshould also look into the matter and the top court could look at it in case ofa conflict.
TheSupreme Court on December 18 decided to hear petitions challenging the Act andissued notices. The court refused to stay the operation of the Act and setJanuary 22 as the hearing date.
Petitioners include Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, the Indian Union Muslim League and its MPs, Lok Sabha MP and AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, TMC MP Mahua Moitra, All Assam Students' Union and Tripura royal scion Pradyot Kishore Deb Barman. Ramesh in his plea has contended that the Act is a "brazen attack on the core fundamental rights envisaged under the Constitution" and "exfacie violates the fundamental guarantees under Article 14 as also Article 21 of the Constitution".
The new citizenship law will provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslims — Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians, who entered the country from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan until December 31, 2014.
