It seeks to legally establish Muslims as second-class citizens of India by providing preferential treatment to other groups. This violates the Constitution's Article 14, the fundamental right to equality to all persons. This basic structure of the Constitution cannot be reshaped by any Parliament.
The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) aims to fast-track citizenship for six persecuted minority communities -- Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians -- who arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014 from Muslim-majority Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
The government has said that birth certificates are 'acceptable' as proof of the date and place of birth in relation to the National Register of Citizens (NRC), among a list of other documents which is “likely to include” voter cards, passport, Aadhaar, licenses, insurance papers, school-leaving certificates and
NEW DELHI: Top government officials on Friday clarified that Aadhaar, voter ID card and passport are not citizenship documents. A top government official said that it was “pre-mature” to talk about NRC but added that documents like voter ID, Aadhaar and passport do not prove citizenship.
Amid the anger and acrimony over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the National Population Register (NPR), and a possible National Register of Citizens (NRC), which the government has said has not been finalised yet, there has been little thought regarding its effects on another growing challenge — the quality of
For over a week, the country has witnessed widespread protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), especially in combination with the proposed all-India National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The 14 documents in List A included:
- 1951 NRC.
- Electoral roll(s) up to 24 March (midnight), 1971.
- Land and tenancy records.
- Citizenship certificate.
- Permanent residential certificate.
- Refugee registration certificate.
- Any government issued license/certificate.
- Government service/employment certificate.
List B included:
- Birth certificate.
- Land document.
- Board/university certificate.
- Bank/LIC/post office records.
- Circle officer/gaon panchayat secretary certificate in case of married women.
- Electoral roll.
- Ration card.
- Any other legally acceptable document.
The process officially started in 2015 and the updated final NRC was released on August 31, with over 1.9 million applicants failing to make it to the NRC list.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) was passed by the Parliament of India on 11 December.
The bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 11 December 2019 with 125 votes in favour and 105 votes against it. After receiving assent from the President of India on 12 December 2019, the bill assumed the status of an act. The act came into force on 10 January 2020.
It's been suggested that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) goes against Article 14 of the Constitution and that there are enough provisions in the unamended Citizenship Act to provide citizenship to persecuted minorities. The CAA is perfectly legal and Constitutional.
The CAA will provide citizenship to illegal non-Muslim migrants from three countries and who have entered India before December 31, 2014. An honest NRC should exclude illegal migrants of all religions.
