By Bhupen Goswami

Guwahati : The Supreme Court has passed the constitutionality of the Revised Citizenship Act-2019 (CAA) on behalf of 75 people of Assam and North Eastern states, West Bengal, Bihar, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab and other states of origin and implementing it on behalf of the Ministry of Home Affairs The Center called for a response to the petition challenging the notification issued .A bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde, Justice BR Gavai and Justice Suryakant issued a notice to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, Law and Justice and the Ministry of External Affairs, pending a petition filed by Isarul Haque Mandal of East Vardhman and 19 others pending in the case. Associated with the petitions, which is to be heard on 22 January.

The apex court had on December 18 last year decided to review the constitutionality of the CAA while refusing to stay it. The amended law provides for citizenship of India to people from Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist, Jain and Christian communities who came from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan as of 31 December 2014.n the new petition, challenging the notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, it said, “Sections 2,3,5,6 of the CAA are Article-14 (Right to Equality), Article-19 (Freedom of Expression) and Violates Article 21 (Right to Life). “The petitioners alleged that the Home Ministry notification and the CAA violate the principle of constitutional ethics and that secularism, equality, dignity of life And by reducing pluralism, it hurts the basic structure of the Constitution.The petition alleged that the CAA and National Citizen Register (NRC) refer to the section of Citizenship Act 1955 and Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Distribution of National Identity Cards) -2003. People from Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi, Jain and Christian communities are getting citizenship based on the imagery of religious persecution.

The petitioner alleged, “The CAA and the rules threaten millions of Indian citizens (Muslims) to be declared suspects.Significantly, the Supreme Court had issued a notice to the Central Government on 60 petitions against the CAA including the All India Muslim League and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh.The Supreme Court on Wednesday has listed as many as 75 pleas challenging the amendment of the the Citizenship Act tomorrow amid ongoing protests across the country.Meanwhile, two judges in the Supreme Court bench have been replaced with new faces — Justices Abdul Nazir and Sanjeev Khanna will replace Justices BR Gavai and Surya Kant. The bench is headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde.The bench had initially fixed 59 petitions including the ones filed by regional organizations like the AASU and AJYCP. Several Congress leaders, including MP Jairam Ramesh have also filed petitions against the contentious legislation.The apex Court has also agreed to the submission of lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay that common people should be made aware about the aim, objectives, and contents of the CAA.

“Tomorrow many petitions have been submitted. A hearing is fixed only when the pleadings are complete. Tomorrow is the first day after issuance of notice (December 16). Final hearing in the matter is unlikely tomorrow… only the Court fixes the hearings. It is unlikely that the hearings will happen tomorrow. However, we are hopeful that the Court will fix a hearing date…that is the goal as of now”, Upamanyu Hazarika, a senior advocate who himself has filed a petition, told Inside Northeast.Meanwhile, Tripura royal scion Pradyot Manikya, recently hailed as a savior of the Bru people for his role in helping the refugees find permanent settlement in Tripura, is prepping for the fight against the CAA tomorrow. Taking to Twitter, the former Tripura Congress President wrote: “As promised that I will continue to fight for our rights I am glad to say that my matter has been been listed for hearing tomorrow at the Supreme Court – we will continue our fight against Citizenship Amendment Act.”