'Would be compelled to implement unconstitutional CAA': Kerala files plea in Supreme Court for its stay

New Delhi: The Kerala government has filed a plea in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to stay the Citizenship Amendment Rules 2024 during the pendency of its original suit challenging the validity of the 2019 law to provide citizenship to minorities belonging to only six religions from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.

In an application, the LDF government said that with coming into force of the CAA Rules, the state is now compelled to ensure compliance of the orders, which it termed 'unconstitutional'.

It also said the classifications based on religion and country are discriminatory, arbitrary, unreasonable, and contravened the principles of secularism, which has been recognised repeatedly by this court as a basic structure of the Constitution.

Kerala contended that there was no urgency in implementing the provisions of the CAA, because the rules were notified more than four years after the passage of the Act.

The state, which had earlier filed an original suit under Article 131 of the Constitution, also contended the religious classification brought forth violated the twin test of classification under Article 14, the protection of which is not limited or restricted to citizens alone and extends to all persons.

"The Amendment Act and Rules and Orders are bereft of any standard principle or norm in discriminating migrants from other countries such as Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Bhutan, which are sharing international borders with India and to which and from which there has been trans-border migration," it said.

The state also contended there is no rationale for not extending the rights conferred on a class of minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh to religious minorities belonging to the said countries of Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal, and Bhutan.

"While the Hindus from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh are covered by Act, the defendant did not consider the issues of the Hindus, primarily of Tamil descend, in Sri Lanka and Hindu Madhesis in Terai of Nepal, whose ancestors migrated to Sri Lanka and Nepal respectively in the eighteenth century from the then British India," it said.

Likewise, the Act covered Christians in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, whereas the defendant did not consider the issues of Christians in Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Also, the Act covers Buddhists from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. But the defendant did not consider the issues of Buddhists in Nepal, it said.

The notifications also overlooked other reportedly persecuted religious minorities/minority sects such as Ahmaddiyas, Shias and Hazaras. Ahmaddiyas are reportedly subjected to persecution in Pakistan and Bangladesh, it said.

Kerala also highlighted the issues of Rohingyas in Myanmar and Muslims in Sri Lanka, who are also miniscule minorities in the said countries and also share international borders with India.

"The Act has resulted in the religious-based exclusion of Muslims from the benefit of acquiring citizenship through naturalization," it contended.

It also said the Act does not cover persecutions on the grounds of ethnicity, linguistics, etc., even in the said class of three countries.

"They do not cover the ethnic issues of Balochs, Sindhis, Pakthuns, and Mohajirs in Pakistan and the Biharis in Bangladesh. The Biharis of Bangladesh and Mohajirs of Pakistan form part of the millions of citizens of undivided India belonging to various faiths," it said.

On December 31, 2019, the Kerala Legislative Assembly unanimously asked the Union government to abrogate the Citizenship Amendment Act.