Centre notifies Citizenship Act amid protests; SC to hear pleas on Jan 22

The law has amended the Citizenship Amendment Act of 1955 to provide for Indian citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian migrants who have come to India until December 31, 2014

The Centre notified the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on Friday. The notification comes nearly a month after Parliament passed it on December 11, and in the wake of sustained anti-CAA protests. The Supreme Court is set to hear petitions challenging the constitutionality of the law on January 22.

The Centre, by notifying the law, has indicated its resolve to implement it even as lawyers and retired judges, Opposition parties, activists, students and retired bureaucrats have criticised it as unconstitutional as it discriminates on the basis of religion.

Home Minister Amit Shah’s statements in Parliament that CAA would be followed by the National