Geneva, March 04, 2020 (PPI-OT): The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has filed an intervention in the Supreme Court on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and informed India’s Permanent Mission in Geneva about it. India’s Permanent Mission in Geneva was informed on Monday by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, that her office had filed an intervention application in the Supreme Court of India in respect to the 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act.
The Indian Supreme Court is hearing close to 144 petitions pertaining to the CAA. The court on January 22 gave the Indian government four weeks’ time to file its response while not imposing any stay on the implementation of CAA. The court, however, said the cases related to Assam and Tripura would be heard separately.
Coupled with the ongoing National Population Register (NPR) and a proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC), India’s Muslims, who form nearly 15 percent of the country’s 1.3 billion population, fear the steps are aimed at marginalising them.
On the other hand, Indian Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that the CAA was an internal matter of India and concerned the sovereign right of the Indian Parliament to make laws. “We strongly believe that no foreign party has any locus standi on issues pertaining to India’s sovereignty,” he said.
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