GUWAHATI: The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Centre and the Assam government in response to a plea challenging the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024. These rules aim to facilitate and regulate the process of granting Indian citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who arrived before December 31, 2014.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala took note of the submissions made by a lawyer representing petitioner Hiren Gohain, a resident of Guwahati. The Court directed the state government and the union ministries of Home Affairs and External Affairs to respond to the plea.
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Furthermore, the Supreme Court ordered that the fresh plea be consolidated with those already pending on the issue.
The latest plea, addressing the contentious issue, highlighted concerns regarding the "uncontrolled influx of illegal migrants from Bangladesh" into Assam. It emphasised the demographic changes in the region, where indigenous people have become minorities in their own land.
Gohain, in his plea, asserted that the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024, are unconstitutional as they are discriminatory, arbitrary, and against the basic structure of the Constitution. He argued that these rules violate fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 15, 19, and 21 of the Constitution.
The petitioner filed the plea both in his personal capacity and as a representative of the indigenous people of Assam.
The plea emphasised that the issue of illegal migration is not communal but pertains to the influx of foreigners into Indian territory. It stated that the population of Assam comprises primarily indigenous Assamese, along with Bengali-speaking Hindus and Muslims, and migrants from other states of India.
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The Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024, were unveiled on March 11, just days before the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections. The rules came into force immediately, aiming to grant Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from neighbouring countries.
The implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, and its associated rules has been contentious, sparking protests across the country in late 2019 and early 2020 over allegations of discrimination.
