Context The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) did not notify the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 rules, the third extended deadline after the Act was passed.
Key takeaways
January 9 was the last day of an extension sought from the two parliamentary committees in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha to frame the rules.
Without rules, the Act cannot be implemented.
As per the Manual on Parliamentary Work, in case the ministries/departments are not able to frame the rules within the prescribed period of six months after legislation is passed, “they should seek extension of time from the committee stating reasons” which cannot be more than for a period of three months at a time.
About CAA
The CAA was passed by Parliament on December 11, 2019 and the Act was notified on December 12.
In January 2020, the Ministry notified that the Act will come into force from January 10, 2020.
It amended the Citizenship Act, 1955 by providing a pathway to Indian citizenship for persecuted religious minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis or Christians, and arrived in India before the end of December 2014.
The law does not grant such eligibility to Muslims from these Muslim-majority countries.
The act was the first time that religion had been overtly used as a criterion for citizenship under Indian law and attracted global criticism
It exempts the members of the six communities from any criminal case under the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Passport Act, 1920.
The two Acts specify punishment for entering the country illegally and staying here on expired visas and permits.
