WEB DESK
Amid countrywide protests against CAA, NRC, Chief Justice of India S A Bobde today observed that the country is going through difficult times as the Supreme Court refused urgent hearing on a plea seeking to declare the Citizenship Amendment Act as constitutional.
“There is so much violence going on. The country is going through difficult times and the endeavour should be for peace… This court’s job is to determine the validity of a law and not declare it as constitutional,” A news agency quoted CJI as saying.
More than 60 petitions challenging the validity of the Act passed by Parliament last month to relax conditions for citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who had entered India before December 31, 2014, have been filed in the top court.
The petitions contend that the Act violates secular character of Indian constitution by linking citizenship with religious identity. The apex court had issued a notice to the Centre on December 18 and had asked the government to submit its reply by the second week of January. These petitions are scheduled to be heard by the Court on January 22.
Refusing urgent hearing of the plea that sought a direction to all states seeking the implementation of CAA, the bench expressed surprise and said this was the first time that someone is seeking that an Act be declared as constitutional.
“This court’s job is to determine validity of a law and not declare it as constitutional,” the bench also comprising justice B R Gavai and Surya Kant said.
The newly amended law 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.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Bobde had fixed a batch of 59 petitions, including those filed by the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, for hearing on January 22