New Delhi, Sep 12, 2022, By Special Correspondent

New Delhi, Sep 12: The Supreme Court on Monday heard a batch of 220 petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019.

A bench comprising CJI UU Lalit and Justice S Ravindra Bhat directed the Central Government to file a response to the petitions challenging the CAA. 

 

It further directed the State of Assam and the State of Tripura to file responses to petitions regarding the challenge to the CAA which were specific to the two states in question. 

 

While taking into account intervening vacations, the court has listed the matter next on October 31, 2022, for directions.

 

At the outset, counsels appearing in different petitions on the matter, highlighted that before getting into the merits of the case, there was a need for the court to make a schedule to hear the matter. 

 

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal stated that there were two sets of matter and there was a need for segregation in the matters. 

 

Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta agreed with the same and stated that the issues could be classified for the ease of court and that he could circulate the same in advance and ensure that if there existed any overlap, he would point the same. 

 

Senior Advocate Menaka Guruswamy also highlighted that there were some matters which were wrongly classified as non-Assam matters and the same had to be reclassified. 

 

Senior Advocate Indira Jaising raised two points before the court and stated that the Union had not filed any reply in relation to her Assam petition and that there might be an overlap and to avoid the same, a sheet could be created to decide if segregation had to be done or not.

 

Accordingly, the court recognised, as had been projected by various counsels appearing for the parties in the matters, that the petitions needed to be put in different compartments so that submissions could be easily advanced and confined to the challenges arising in respect of such segments. 

 

The CJI noted, "Our attention has been drawn to the order in which the matters from Assam and Northeast were asked to be segregated."

 

Thus, in light of the order dated 22.01.2020, the court passed the following directed that the office of Solicitor General shall prepare a complete list of the matters pertaining to these challenges and the matters shall be put in different compartments depending upon the challenge raised in individual petitions.

 

The Union of India shall file appropriate responses with respect to segments of challenges and that the exercise be done in four weeks from today.

 

After such segmenting is done, the lead matters shall be demarcated and a convenience compilation representing lead matters shall be prepared after consulting counsels for the other side, the bench said.

 

The court further stated that in the meantime, notices be issued in all fresh matters wherever notices have not been issued. Responses to petitions shall be filed by Union of India going by compartments. 

 

So far as State of Assam and Tripura are concerned, they shall also file their compilation reports and also complete pleadings by four weeks and their pleadings shall also be taken into consideration for the compilation.