What Is CAA: The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) is a legislative enactment that amends the Citizenship Act, 1955 introducing provisions to grant Indian citizenship to specific categories of individuals belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, or Christian communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, or Pakistan.
In a significant move, the CAA was notified by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government on Monday. Regarding the same, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) stated, "The Constitution of India grants us the right to provide religious persecuted refugees with fundamental rights and to grant citizenship from a humanitarian perspective. The implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act was delayed due to the COVID pandemic", as reported by news agency ANI.
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What Is CAA: Know Eligibility, Deadline, And States Exempted
- The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) aims to grant Indian citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Parsis who arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014, from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
- To qualify for citizenship, immigrants must have resided in India for the last year and at least five of the previous 14 years. Previously, the residency requirement for naturalisation was 11 years.
- The 2019 amendment of the CAA extended eligibility to migrants who entered India until December 31, 2014, and experienced religious persecution or fear of it in their country of origin.
- The amendment also reduced the residency requirement for naturalisation. The aggregate period is reduced from "not less than eleven years" to "not less than five years", as per the Act.
- Persons granted citizenship under this section are deemed to be citizens of India from the date of their entry into India.
- Any pending proceedings against individuals for illegal migration or citizenship shall stand abated upon the conferment of citizenship.
"On and from the date of commencement of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, any proceeding pending against a person under this section in respect of illegal migration or citizenship shall stand abated on conferment of citizenship to him: Provided that such person shall not be disqualified for making application for citizenship under this section on the ground that the proceeding is pending against him and the Central Government or authority specified by it in this behalf shall not reject his application on that ground if he is otherwise found qualified for grant of citizenship," the Act states.
- The CAA does not apply to tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, or Tripura, as included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution, and areas covered under "The Inner Line" notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873.
"Nothing in this section shall apply to tribal area of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram or Tripura as included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution and the area covered under "The Inner Line" notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873," the Act reads.
Notably, the Madras High Court in 2022 stated that the CAA principles were equally applicable to Sri Lankan Tamils who faced violence in the neighbouring country.
“Parliament has recently amended the Citizenship Act. The persecuted minorities from the immediate neighbouring countries, such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, now have an opportunity to get Indian citizenship. Though Sri Lanka does not fall within the said amendment, the very same principle is equally applicable. One can take judicial notice of the fact that the Hindu Tamils of Sri Lanka were the primary victims of the racial strife,” Justice G R Swaminathan of the Madurai Bench said, as quoted by The Hindu in a report.
The CAA introduces amendments to various sections of the Citizenship Act, including section 2, section 7D, and section 18, to accommodate the new provisions. These amendments specify conditions, restrictions, and procedures related to the grant of citizenship certificates and address violations by Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Cardholders.
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Furthermore, the CAA amends the Third Schedule to the Citizenship Act to modify the aggregate period of residence or government service required for citizenship applicants from Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, or Christian communities in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, or Pakistan.
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