Notice issued on Centre’s petition seeking transfer of CAA cases

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice on Central government’s petition seeking transfer of a batch of petitions challenging Citizenship (Amendment) Act pending before several High Courts to the top court.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde sought response from the petitioners whose matters are pending before several High Courts.

The top court said it will hear all the petitions related to the newly-amended citizenship law, along with Centre’s transfer petition, on January 22.

Earlier, Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, who represented the Centre, had requested the top court to hear the matter by contending that the High Courts may take different views on the same issue.

It is to be noted that as many as 60 petitions have been filed before the court challenging the law.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, grants citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Parsi, Buddhist, and Christian refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.