Citizenship Amendment Act 2019: Explained Prince Verma BASICS OF LAW Wed, Dec 18, 2019, at ,12:31 PM What Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 Deals with? Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 deals with the provision related to the grounds of Indian Citizenship and it also made Non - Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh eligible for Indian citizenship. Background of Citizenship Amendment Act 2019- The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party promised in its 2014 election manifesto to provide a natural home for persecuted Hindu refugees. The travails of such refugees have since been reported in the news media. In 2015, the government passed orders legalizing such refugees irrespective of their travel documents and granting them long-term visas. According to the Intelligence Bureau, over 30,000 migrants, almost all of them Hindu or Sikh, have been accommodated by these provisions. When was CAB introduced in Parliament? The Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on 19 July 2016 as the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016. It was referred to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 12 August 2016. The Committee submitted its report on 7 January 2019. Subsequently, the Union Cabinet cleared the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, on 4 December 2019 for introduction in the parliament. The Bill was introduced in 17th Lok Sabha by the Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah on 9 December 2019 and was passed on 10 December 2019, with 311 MPs voting in favor and 80 against the Bill. The bill was subsequently passed by the Rajya Sabha on 11 December 2019 with 125 votes in favor and 105 votes against it. Those voted in favor included BJP allies such as Janata Dal, AIADMK, Biju Janata Dal, TDP and YSR-Congress, apart from BJP. After receiving assent from the President of India on 12 December 2019, the bill assumed the status of an act. The act will come into force on a date chosen by the Government of India and will be notified as such. Analysis of Citizenship Amendment Act 2019- The Bill amends the Citizenship Act of 1955 to give eligibility for Indian citizenship to illegal migrants who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, AND who entered India on or before 31 December 2014. The bill does not include Muslims. Immediate beneficiaries of the Bill, according to IB records, will be just over 30,000 people. India's previous citizenship law, Citizenship Act 1955, did not consider religious affiliation to be a criterion for eligibility. Under the Act, one of the requirements for citizenship by naturalization is that the applicant must have resided in India during the last 12 months, and for 11 of the previous 14 years. The Bill relaxes this 11-year requirement to five years for persons belonging to the same six religions and three countries. The bill exempts the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, and Tripura from its applicability. It also exempts the areas regulated through the Inner Line Permit, which include Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Nagaland. The inclusion of Manipur in Inner Line Permit was also announced on 9 December 2019. The Bill includes new provisions for cancellation of the registration of Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) such as registration through fraud, in case of OCI holder sentenced to imprisonment for two or more years within five years of registration and in necessity in the interest of sovereignty and security of India. It also includes a provision on violation of any law notified by the central government. It also adds the opportunity for the OCI holder to be heard before the cancellation. What is NRC? The 'National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a registry maintained by the Government of India containing names & certain relevant information for identification of Indian citizens of the Assam state. The register was specifically made for Assam state. However, on 20th November 2019, Home Minister Shri. Amith Shah declared during a parliamentary session that the register would be extended to the entire country. The register was first prepared after the 1951 Census of India and since then it has not been updated until recently. The North-East Indian state of Assam has become the first state in India where the updating of the NRC is being taken up to include the names of those persons whose names appeared in the NRC of 1951 and is still alive; and/or of their present living descendants who have a permanent residence within the state. Purpose of NRC- The purpose of the NRC update in the state of Assam is to identify Indian citizens - who are presently residents of the state - so that illegal migrants who entered the state after midnight on 24 March 1971 can be identified. However, the fate of those who would not be able to get his or her name entered in the register is now a matter under judicial and legislative consideration and more or less uncertain. On 3 September 2019, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, a major opposition party in Bangladesh, expressed its view that the people excluded from the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam might be sent back to Bangladesh. Why the Northeast is Against the Act Illegal immigration has been a major issue in the Northeast. The region has witnessed many agitations against illegal immigrants for decades now. The citizenship bill has tried to redefine the definition of an illegal immigrant and that has caused a lot of concern in Northeast. The bill does not include Muslim minorities of neighboring countries. But, the biggest concern of people in Northeast is that the bill undermines the effect of the Assam Accord signed in 1985. According to the Assam Accord, any person who can’t prove their ancestor’s presence in India before March 24, 1971, will be deemed as an illegal immigrant. The Assam Accord didn’t discriminate on the basis of religion and it ended the 6-year long agitation against illegal immigration in the state of Assam. However, the Citizenship Amendment Bill has tried to change the definition of illegal immigrants and excluded religious minorities from the illegal immigrant list. Bengali Hindus who migrated from Bangladesh to India constitute a major chunk of illegal immigrants in Assam. According to the new bill, however, they will no more be illegal immigrants and can be granted citizenship. This has caused a lot of distress in Assam as it violates the Assam Accord. Asom Gana Parishad, an NDA ally in the state has threatened to break ties if the bill is passed. This bill has caused communal divides in Assam to resurface which is not good for the growth of the Northeast. Why other Parts of India are against the Act- In the rest of the country like Bengal, Kerala and Delhi people are protesting against the act because of the exclusion of Muslims alleging it to be against the ethos of the constitution. Stand of Supreme Court- The Supreme Court is presently hearing matters concerning the violent incidents that took place at Jamia Milia Islamia University and Aligarh Muslim University. The protest in the universities started against the newly enacted Citizenship Amendment Act. Jamia protests hearing has commenced in Supreme Court on Monday. The Supreme Court will deliver the judgment on Wednesday, 18th December. A bench of three judges, led by CJI SA Bobde and justice B.R. Gavai, Justice Suryakant listed its statement on Tuesday on students of Jamia Milia Islamia. Advocates Indira Jaising, Mehmood Pracha, and Colin Gonsalves are counsel in the case. On Monday, while hearing the case CJI said, “We don’t want to be held to ransom. What is this? Public property is being destroyed. Law and order will be taken care of by the police. Courts can’t do much.”While hearing the arguments, he said, “We want peace. If violence continues and the destruction of public property continues, we don’t want to hear the case. Just because they are students, they cannot take the law into their own hands.”Concluding his argument he further mentioned, “We are not opposed to peaceful demonstrations but if you want to take to the streets, take to the streets.” Court asks Solicitor General Tushar Mehta about two concerns – 1) Students being arrested without notice to authorities 2) No medical attention is given to students. For now, Supreme Court has ordered, “Having regard to the nature of the matter and dispute and the vast area over which the matter is spread, we do not think it is feasible to appoint one committee for this.” Supreme Court directs the petitioners to approach the High Courts within whose jurisdiction the incidents have occurred.