Amidst the ongoing protest against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) the government got a sigh of relief on Wednesday as the Supreme Court (SC) refused to put a stay on the implementation of the act.
The three judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice SA Bobde declined to put a stay on the contentious law. However, the apex judiciary gave a notice to the government to respond to petitions that have attacked the amended Citizenship Act on grounds that it violates the Constitution.
SC was hearing the matter related to CAA for the first time on Wednesday with over 60 petitions being filed against it. SC who would go on winter vacations from tomorrow has put the matter for hearing next on January 22, 2020.
During the hearings senior lawyer and Congress politician Kapil Sibal argued that the law should not be implemented as the rules have not been notified. However, this demand was countered by Attorney General KK Venugopal.
The controversial law allowing Indian citizenship for Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, and Jains from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan is a first of its kind and has triggered protests across the nation.
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The petitions in SC have challenged the law on the ground that the law discriminates against people on grounds of religion and privileges religious persecution of only specific religions. Majority of the petitions has been filed by the Parliamentarians.
