SC refuses interim stay on CAA rules
Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to grant an interim stay on the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules of 2024 which effectively brought into force the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, however, issued notice to the central government on a slew of interim applications, as many as 20, seeking a stay on the implementation of the rules. The Centre has been given three weeks to respond to the petitions. The batch of petitions will come up for resumed hearing on April 9.
Appearing on behalf of the Centre, solicitor general Tushar Mehta told the bench that CAA «does not take away citizenship of any individual». He added that it would be wholly wrong and «misleading» to equate CAA with the National Register of Citizens.
Seeking four weeks' time to respond to the applications seeking interim stay on rules, Mehta said the Centre needs to «satisfy the conscience of the court» and that the implementation of CAA «would cause no prejudice to the petitioners». Clarifying that he is not challenging the locus standi of the petitioners, Mehta added that the petitioners «are not the affected parties».
Appearing on behalf of the petitioners, senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Indira Jaising vehemently demanded stay on the implementation of CAA rules. Questioning the «urgency» of the matter, Sibal argued «if process of citizenship starts, it would be impossible to reverse it. That process should not start».
On the other hand, Jaising demanded that the matter be
