SC no to Citizenship Amendment Act stay, UN concerned

The Supreme Court of India, on Wednesday, refused to stay The Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019, which has triggered widespread protests across the country. The apex court also issued a notice to Centre over pleas challenging the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and suggested that the government publicises the actual intent of the Act to avoid confusion among the public. “There is a need to publicise why the Act (CAA) has been passed. There is a need for that,” Justice Bobde addressed Attorney General K.K. Venugopal for the Centre.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for respect of rights of freedom of speech and expression. “We are concerned about the violence and alleged use of excessive force by security forces that we’ve seen that have been taking place in the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. We very much call for restraint and urge full respect for the rights of freedom of opinion and expression and peaceful assembly,” Guterres’ spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a press briefing on Wednesday.

While violence, riots, arson and police action on protesting students that drew widespread criticism have plagued the nation since the December 12 notification of the Act, the situation was largely peaceful in most parts of the country, including violence-hit states like Assam. Union minister Prakash Javadekar appealed to students to maintain peace and said the Citizenship Act did not intend to take away any Indian resident’s citizenship.