Supreme Court Schedules Hearing on Citizenship Amendment Act Petitions

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday said it would begin hearing petitions challenging the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and its Rules in May this year. The hearing will commence on 5 May 2026. A Bench comprising the Chief Justice of India, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Pancholi was considering the petitions on Thursday for procedural directions. The matter was last listed nearly two years ago, on 19 March 2024. The petitioners will be heard on 5 May and during the first half of 6 May. The respondents will be heard during the second half of 6 May and on 7 May. Rejoinder submissions will be heard on 12 May,Live Lawreported. As many as 243 petitions have been filed challenging the CAA, which was passed by Parliament on 11 December 2019. It received the President’s assent the following day. On that day, Kerala’s IUML moved the Supreme Court challenging the law. Subsequently, a large number of petitions were filed. Senior Advocate Indira Jaising requested that petitions relating to Assam and other north-eastern states be considered separately, as they involve issues arising out of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act and the Inner Line Permit. Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta informed the Court that, as per an order passed in January 2020, matters related to Assam and Tripura are to be categorised separately from the other cases,Live Lawreported. The Chief Justice observed that matters concerning the rest of the country could be heard first, followed by petitions pertaining to Assam and Tripura. For the unversed, the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 allows non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who entered India without valid travel documents before 31 December 2014 to apply for Indian citizenship. Such individuals are not treated as “illegal migrants” under the Act.