Multi-dimensional Approach to the Constitutional Validity of the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 and it’s relation with NRC and Assam Accord

Deep Kumar Mohanty
University Law College Bhubaneswar, Utkal University
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Shreeja Utkalika Jena
SOA National Institute of Law Bhubaneswar, SOA University

Volume III, Issue III, 2020

The chief intrinsic of the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 is to provide citizenship status to the Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, Parsis and Jains who have absconded from the neighboring countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan into the Indian Territory before 31st December 2019 as a result of religious persecution but excludes Muslim refugees from the above mentioned countries. As the Citizenship Amendment act does not treat the Muslims equally with their counterparts Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, Parsis and Jains under the equal circumstance of religious persecution and segregation of the Muslims from the same is irrational and absurd because the taxonomy fashioned by the Citizenship Amendment Act exclusively on religion is perverse and hence the differentia formed by the Act is one which is not based on a reasonable nexus thereby violating Article 14. When the recipient of the law is pedestal on religious hounding then parting out Muslims who are religiously victimized entails that they would be kept back in incarceration centers in contrast to their Hindu, Muslim, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains from the aforesaid countries consequently constricting their right to life and personal liberty on the basis of an unfair procedure and violating Article 21. Furthermore as the Act discriminates the Muslim refugees in relation to granting them citizenship rights solely on the basis of their religion it casts an attack on the well cherished principle of secularism and thereby contravenes the basic structure and the principle of constitutional morality enshrined under the Constitution. In acquiesce to the Citizenship Amendment Act the cutoff date for persons pertaining to the six abovementioned religious groups asserting citizenship in India is 31st December 2014 which collides with the NRC cutoff date of 24th March 1971 consequently rendering the gross calisthenics of NRC in Assam futile.

 

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