SC to hear pleas challenging validity of CAA

Subject: Polity

Context:

The Supreme Court was about to hear on the batch of petitions challenging the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) 2019.
The bench of Chief Justice of India UU Lalit and Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Bela M Trivedi will hear the plea.
What is the issue:
- At least 220 petitions against the CAA were filed before the top court challenging the Act.
- In 2020, the Kerala government was the first state to challenge the CAA and also filed a suit in the apex court.
- The amendments had also been challenged on several other grounds, including violation of secularism, Articles 21 (right to life), 15 (prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth) and 19 (right to freedom) as well as provisions on citizenship and constitutional morality.
What is center response:
- The Centre in its affidavit before the apex court has said that the CAA Act is a “benign piece of legislation” which does not affect the “legal, democratic or secular rights” of any of the Indian Citizens.
- The CAA does not violate any fundamental right.
- Moreover the center also termed the legislation legal and asserted that there was no question of it violating constitutional morality.