Centre To Supreme Court: MHA Notification Not Related To CAA

CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS

• The Centre has submitted to the Supreme Court that the notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs has no connection to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.
• An Intervention Application had been filed by the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) against the said notification.

BACKGROUND

• The Centre has issued to the Collectors of certain districts a notification which empowered them to exercise the powers of the Central Government.
• Section 5 allowed the Collectors to enable registration as a citizen of India.
• Section 6 allowed for them to grant a naturalisation certificate.
• This benefit was conferred upon minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.

ARGUMENTS OF IUML

• It contends that the Union has been trying to implement the machinery envisaged under the Citizenship Amendment Act.
• It has been trying to bypass the assurance given to the Hon’ble Court in a roundabout manner.

CENTRE’S ARGUMENTS

• The Union contends that the notification merely seeks to delegate power to local authorities.
• It does not provide any relaxation to foreigners and is aimed at speedy disposal of applications.
• Section 16 of the Citizenship Act confers upon the Central Government to delegate power to local officers.
• The MHA notification was a result of administrative exigencies.
• It has no correlation to the CAA.

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