India criticises UNHC for filing intervention application in Supreme Court over CAA

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday criticised the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHRC) for filing intervention application in the Supreme Court over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) that was enacted late last year.

Once again asserting it to be the country's "internal matter", the MEA said that the intervention application "concerns the sovereign right of the Indian Parliament to make laws".

"We strongly believe that no foreign party has any locus standi on issues pertaining to India's sovereignty," Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a statement.

"We are clear that the CAA is constitutionally valid and complies with all requirements of our constitutional values. It is reflective of our long-standing national commitment with respect to human rights issues arising from the tragedy of the Partition of India," the statement read.

India is a democratic country governed by the rule of law, Kumar said.

"We all have the utmost respect for and full trust in our independent judiciary. We are confident that our sound and legally sustainable position would be vindicated by the Supreme Court," the statement added.

The CAA grants Indian citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian refugees fleeing religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and who arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014. The law has led to protests across the country.