DMK, DYFI And Assam Jamiat Ulema-E-Hind Move SC Against Citizenship(Amendment) Act 2019 [Read Petitions]

The petition alleged that the final list of NRC for the resident of Assam was published on 31.08.2019. And, there were applications of 3.3 crore people in NRC list and final list have included 3.11 crore people and excluded 19.06 lakh people. "It is yet unclear exact number of how many people belonging to Hindu religion and Islam religion are being excluded by virtue of the process of National Register of Citizens in the State of Assam", said the petitioner.

While aggrieved by the enactment of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019, the petitioner said that the Act denies the right to acquire citizenship to religiously persecuted Ahamadiya Muslims and Shia Muslims and the same is in the case with Rohingya Muslim migrants coming to India due to religious presecution by Myanmar and also the Hindu illegal migrants from Sri Lanka on religious persecution despite the fact that they are of Indian origin.

The petitioner remarked that the Act does not have reasonable classification based on intelligible differentia. And that the classification based on religion violates Article 14 of the Constitution. The petition also mentioned the case of Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India, where the Supreme Court held, "a legislation discriminated on the basis of an intrinsic and core trait of an individual, it cannot form a reasonable classification based on an intelligible differentia."

If the object of the Act is to protect the 'minorities who faced religious persecution in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh mentioned in the act, then the Ahamadiyya and Shia sections from these countries are entitled to equal treatment for the benefit of this Act. But denying the same to Ahamadiyyas and Hazaras and Shia sections within these countries is unable to satisfy the objective sought to be achieved, which is said to be the protection of minorities facing religious persecution, said the petitioner.

It was also contended that this Act is in total conflict with Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human RIghts (UDHR) and Article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

The petitioner prayed for declaring the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 to be in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution since it is discriminatory, manifestly arbitrary, unreasonable and irrational and hence striking down the same as unconstitutional.

Petition filed by DMK

The prime opposition party in the State of Tamil Nadu, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has also moved a PIL opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.

The petition begins by quoting the line of a great Tamil poet, "Yaadhum Oore Yaavarum Kelir", which means, to us all towns are our own, everyone our kin.

The petitioner remarked that "the Act is a classic example of spewing venom against one section of the human race by targeting Muslim community and letting down the Tamils who have come from the neighbouring country as refugees, who are similarly placed in the impugned Act and are staying for more than several decades together in the State of Tamil Nadu."

The petition further contended that the Act is arbitrary as it related to only three countries, i.e., Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh and confines only to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities. And also said that there are no reasonable classification to confine the above three countries, as people from other countries who are similarly situated will be kept away from such benefits and therefore the impugned act is irrational, whimsical, fanciful and manifestly arbitrary.

It was also observed that the Act is ignorant of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord signed in the year 1985 which provides constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people. The petition also reiterated that the Act is in violation of Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India.

The PIL prayed to declare the CItizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 as unconstitutional, null and void and violative of Article 14 and Article 21 of the constitution of India.

Petition filed by Jamiat Ulema-E-Hind

The Jamiat Ulema-E-Hind in Asaam, which is an unregistered body has so filed a PIL against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.

The petitioner submitted that the present amendment is against the letter and spirit of Assam accord which was accepted by all and that the amendment to the Citizenship Act in light of Assam accord which has inserted Section 6A was a rare unanimous legislation.

The petitioner added that any derogation from Assam accord will only create more disturbance in Assam and also that the identification and deportation of the illegal immigrants decided in the accord was non partisan and was absolutely secular and created no classification based on religion.

The petition also contended that the Act is in violation of the agreement between the Government of India and Pakistan regarding the security and the rights of minorities (Nehru-Liaqat Pact) and that the Act is contrary to the promises made by the Government of India in Assam accord with the student's agitators of Assam movement.

The petition also reiterated the fact that the Act is in violation of Article 14 and Article 21 of the Constitution and that the amendment suffers from manifest arbitrariness as well as it is unreasonable and irrational because of the discrimnation between communities as well as country of origin of illegal migrants.

The PIL prayed for declaring the Sections 2, 3, 5 and 6 the Act or Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 as a whole as discriminatory, arbitrary and illegal, as it is ultra-vires the Constitution of India.

Click Here To Download Petition Filed By DMK

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Click Here To Download Petition Filed By DYFI

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Click Here To Download Petition Filed By Assam Jamiat Ulema-E-Hind

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