Pleas seeking a stay of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019 will be heard by the Supreme Court on Tuesday, March 19. Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud today agreed to hear a batch of petitions for staying Citizenship Amendment Rules 2024 on March 19.

Several petitioners, including the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), moved the apex court after the Central government notified the rules, by filing interlocutory stay applications in their pending writ petitions.

They challenged various CAA provisions.

The Citizenship Amendment Rules were notified by the Union government to enforce CAA 2019, which is the subject matter of numerous ongoing litigations.

The law aims to fast-track citizenship to non-Muslim refugees, who came to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014 because of religious persecution.

The CAA was passed by the Parliament in December 2019, but the Government of India issued the rules for it on 11 March.

On Friday (March 15), IUML's pleas were mentioned by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal before a Supreme Court bench led by the CJI with a request for an urgent hearing.

"The Citizenship Amendment Act was passed in 2019. At that time there was no rules, so no stay was granted by this court. Now they have notified the rules ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. If citizenship is granted, it will be impossible to reverse. So the interim application may be heard," the senior counsel argued.

"So far as listing is concerned, I have nothing to say. It may be listed. Apropos what my learned friend has said, none of the petitioners has any locus to question the grant of citizenship," Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the SC.

After hearing the brief exchange, the CJI agreed to post not only the IUML's application but all other pleas praying for a stay of the Citizenship Amendment Rules 2024 for hearing on March 19.

CJI Chandrachud also clarified that the whole batch comprising 237 petitions will be listed along with the latest interlocutory applications.