CAA: Over 20 petitions received in Tripura, two applicants granted Indian citizenship

Authorities in Tripura have processed several applications under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), with two citizenship certificates issued so far and a number of cases under examination at different levels, an official said.

The official said applications under the CAA are processed through an online portal and examined by a state-level committee after recommendations are received from district authorities.

"There is no physical processing mechanism under the CAA. Cases are examined through the system portal after recommendations by the state-level committee," the official said.

According to the official, around 20 to 25 applications have been received so far, with most of them at different stages of scrutiny and examination. The dashboard maintained under the system contains details of all applications and their stages of processing.

"Several applications have been submitted from different parts of the state, with some cases under scrutiny at the district level and others pending before the state-level committee," the official said.

Referring to recent applications, the official said six cases had reached the final stage of processing. Of these, three applications were returned for further examination after discrepancies were noticed during scrutiny, while three others were forwarded to the state-level committee for consideration.

"In two cases, citizenship certificates have already been issued," the official added.

According to another official in North Tripura district, all three recently processed cases were from the district. One of the successful applicants, identified as Jhalak Das Chowdhury, has already met the North Tripura District Magistrate to complete formalities for obtaining an Aadhaar card.

The official said another woman applicant had also been granted Indian citizenship under the provisions of the CAA.

The officials did not provide further details regarding the applicants or indicate a timeline for disposal of the remaining applications.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act provides a mechanism for granting Indian citizenship to eligible persons belonging to specified communities who migrated from neighbouring countries under conditions laid down in the law.

The enactment of the CAA had triggered protests across several northeastern states, including Tripura. Several tribal organisations challenged the law in the Supreme Court, and some petitions remain pending.

Areas covered under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution in the Northeast have been exempted from the purview of the CAA to protect the cultural and social identities of indigenous communities residing in Autonomous District Council areas.