New Delhi: The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the centre asking it to respond to the more than 60 petitions challenging the validity of the controversial new citizenship law. In a brief hearing this morning a three-judge top court bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde declined to stay implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, saying "we will have to see whether the Act has to be stayed" and set January 22 as the next date of hearing in this matter.
On Tuesday, A school bus was damaged and a police booth was set on fire as clashes erupted at Seelampur in Delhi during a protest against the Citizenship Act. The police used batons and fired tear gas shells as some 2,000 protesters threw stones and set fire to vehicles. According to a senior police officer, the protest began around 1 pm, when school buses were on the roads taking children home. People from the area gathered at a prominent crossing for a protest march from Seelampur towards Jafrabad. Sources say trouble broke out when the crowd showed up a little early and was asked to disperse.
The citizenship law facilitates Indian citizenship for non-Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who entered India before 2014.
Here are the live updates on developments on Citizenship Amendment Act:
Dec 18, 2019 15:08 (IST)
In one of her strongest attacks on the BJP, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee questioned if the party was a "washing machine" -- the only one that can legitimise citizenship. The Bengal Chief Minister has refused to implement the Centre's new citizenship law and the National Registry of Citizens, which she said today were "two sides of the same lollipop". On the third straight day of her protest against the new law, she questioned why the BJP was now demanding birth certificates, and said, "The cat is out of the bag".
Dec 18, 2019 11:24 (IST)
Supreme Court notice to government on Citizenship (Amendment) Act, will take up petitions challenging validity on January 22.
Dec 18, 2019 10:24 (IST)
Normalcy returned in Guwahati while the curfew imposed in Dibrugarh was relaxed for 14 hours since 6 am on Wednesday. The curfew imposed in Guwahati, the gateway to the Northeast, on December 11 in the wake of protests against the citizenship law was lifted on Tuesday following improvement in law and order, officials said. No fresh incidents of violence have been reported in Assam on Wednesday morning.
Dec 18, 2019 09:45 (IST)
DMRC reopens entry, exit gates of all metro stations
All the entry and exit gates of all stations have been opened after being shut for security reasons following the ongoing protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 in the area. "Entry and exit gates at all stations have been opened. Normal services have resumed in all stations," Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said in a tweet. Earlier in the day, DMRC closed the entry and exit gates of Jaffrabad and Maujpur - Babarpur metro stations. The newly-enacted Act grants citizenship to non-Muslim refugees of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh who fled religious persecution and arrived in India until December 31, 2014.