The Supreme Courtroom on Tuesday (December 9) requested how people who’ve utilized for citizenship on the premise of the reduction given by the Citizenship Modification Act 2019 could possibly be provisionally included inside the voters’ file sooner than a final dedication of their citizenship standing.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was listening to a petition filed by an NGO named Aatmadeep trying to find directions to include the people who migrated to India from Bangladesh, and are entitled to Indian citizenship as per the CAA, inside the electoral rolls after the Specific Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal. The petitioner alleged that the features submitted by a lot of refugees have not been processed.
Senior Advocate Karuna Nundy, for the petitioner, submitted that the features given by many people have not been processed however. She argued that the citizenship rights are alleged to accrue on the date of software program. Whereas the features are awaiting processing, the SIR course of will “knock them out”, she submitted.
The bench nonetheless requested how the Courtroom can grant them discount when the competent authority is however to take a alternative on their citizenship. “You are not however conferred citizenship. The amended regulation may have given you some rights to hunt citizenship. Nevertheless each declare beneath that Act must be determined- whether or not or not you belong to the specified minority, whether or not or not you come from the specified nations, whether or not or not you are inside India…there could also be some authority prescribed by the Authorities of India to search out out. Till these claims are determined, you can’t put the cart sooner than the horse,” CJI Kant acknowledged.
“First you buy your citizenship, then the entry into the electoral rolls comes,” Justice Bagchi acknowledged.
Nundy submitted that there must be a timeline inside which the selection must be made. She referred to the course in Basudev Datta v. State of West Bengal the place the Courtroom set a 6-month timeline to complete police verification sooner than Authorities appointments, and sought for a similar timeline for CAA candidates.
The bench recognized that the petitioner is an NGO and no applicant has personally come forward. The bench acknowledged that at best, it’ll presumably solely facilitate the dedication of the claims. “We are going to solely facilitate the dedication of your standing; nothing further we’ll do,” CJI Kant acknowledged. Nundy acknowledged that such a course moreover will be helpful to the candidates. She sought a course to eradicate the features all through the timeline specified for naturalisation features.
She pressed for a course that the features acquired till right now be disposed of sooner than February 2026. Nonetheless, the bench expressed reluctance to specify such a timeline. “That we cannot be capable to,” CJI Kant acknowledged.
Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, for the ECI, submitted that the selection on the CAA features must be taken by the Union of India. “We would not have a job to play in citizenship,” Dwivedi acknowledged.
The bench lastly issued uncover to the Union of India by the office of the Authorized skilled Regular for India. The bench moreover requested the petitioner to serve a replica of the petition to the Solicitor Regular of India.
The matter shall be heard subsequent week.
Case Particulars : AATMADEEP vs. THE UNION OF INDIA| SLP(C) No. 034474 – / 2025
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