Syed Ali Ahmed | India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 13–Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) on Thursday moved the Supreme Court against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019, saying it was in violation of the fundamental principles of the Constitution that “all should be treated equally’’.
The petition moved through advocates Pallavi Pratap and Haris Beeran urged the court to strike down the Bill as it was in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution that granted equality to all, irrespective of religion, caste, creed and sex. The petitioners include IUML leaders like P K Kunhalikutty, E.T. Mohammed Basheer, Abdul Wahab and K. Navas Khan.
The Bill, however, has now become an Act after the President of India Ramnath Kovind gave his assent midnight on Thursday and the Centre also notified it in the official gazette immediately. The Bill was passed by two Houses of Parliament this week which has sparked violent reactions in North-East states, particularly Assam, Arunchal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Tripura, resulting into death of several persons in Assam.
The Bill grants Indian citizenship to illegal migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who happen to Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, Jains and Buddhists. However, the amended law excludes Muslims from it.
The petition said, “The preamble of our Constitution envisages that India is a secular country and, therefore, every law which is passed by the Parliament has to be religion neutral. No law can be passed by the Parliament if the basis of such a law is religion. That strikes at the root of the concept of secularism which is the basic structure of the Constitution. The present Amendment Act excludes a particular community/religion or, has included certain religions/communities which, according to the Government, is a reasonable classification. This is not only unreasonable but against the principles enunciated under Article 14 of the Constitution”.
Act Segregates Foreign Migrants on Basis of Religion
“The Amendment Act seeks to segregate persons on the basis of their religion and grant them the benefit of naturalization, if they belong to a certain religion, in this case Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, who are from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. This religious segregation without any reasonable differentiation, not only violates Article 14, but is also blatantly opposed to the very basic structure of the Constitution and to the very idea of India as a country which treats people of all faiths equally. Not only the Amendment Act outrightly discriminates on the basis of religion, it also legitimizes the grant of citizenship on the basis of religion” the petition said.
IUML submitted that “illegal migrants are class by itself and, therefore, any law which is applicable to them, should be irrespective of any religion, caste or nationality basis”.
Classification of Countries Unreasonable
Stating that the classification of countries in the Act is unreasonable, the petition said that the three countries-Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh-are included in the Act saying that they have a state religion. But it is unreasonable because other neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan also have a state religion and have been excluded from the ambit of the Amendment.
Ahmadiyas, Shias, Hazaras Not Included Among Persecuted Minorities
The petition argued that there are other minorities such as the Ahmadiyas, Shias and the Hazaras who have a long history of persecution in Afghanistan and Pakistan and are still continue being persecuted. But these communities have not been covered by the present Act.
No reason for exclusion of minorities from other countries
The Act gives no explanation as to why migrants from these three countries-Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh-are differentiated from migrants from other neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka, Bhutan (both have Buddhism as their state religion) and Nepal with Hinduism as state religion.
The petition goes on to say that Sri Lanka has had long a history of persecution of Tamil minorities. Similarly, India shares approximately1,600 km long border with Myanmar indulging into persecution and genocide of Rohingya Muslims. Over the years, there have been reports of both Tamil minorities and Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution from their respective countries and seeking refuge in India.
Citizenship Amendment Act 2019
The Amendment Act reads, “Provided that any person belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian community from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, who entered into India on or before the 31st day of December, 2014 and who has been exempted by the Central Government by or under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 or from the application of the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946 or any rule or order made thereunder, shall not be treated as illegal migrant for the purposes of this Act”.
Act is “Communal” and Discriminates On Basis of Religion
The petition said that “the amendment is prime facie communal and clearly creates distinction on the basis of a person’s religion”.
“It aims to establish a legal framework for granting citizenship based on such religious discrimination. Such religious classification to grant the benefit of access to citizenship is an impermissible classification under Article 14 of the Constitution and against the basic structure of the Constitution and against the very idea of India”, the petition argues.
Act Is Politically Motivated, Unconstitutional
The petition says that the Amendment Act has been brought by BJP government with a view to protecting about 14 lakh Hindus who have been left out of National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam and make them BJP’s vote bank. The exclusion of 15 lakh Hindus from NRC had created political backlash for the BJP and hence, the amendment in citizenship Act. With the new Act coming into force, the illegal Hindu migrants would be given citizenship while illegal Muslim migrants would be declared foreigners and kept in detention centres/concentration camps.
“The amended Act, based on “religious classification”, is in violation of the core principles of secularism and Indian constitution which prohibits the state from favouring any particular religion or religious denominations while enacting a law”, the petition says.
According to the petition, the intention of bringing the amendment is malafide and hence, unconstitutional.
