UNHRC files intervention plea in SC on CAA, India says no locus standi

New Delhi, March 3, 2020

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has filed an intervention plea in the Supreme Court on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, but India has asserted that no foreign party had locus standi in the matter.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a statement that India's Permanent Mission in Geneva had been informed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights that her Office had filed an Intervention Application in the Supreme Court of India in respect to the 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

"The Citizenship Amendment Act is an internal matter of India and concerns the sovereign right of the Indian Parliament to make laws. We strongly believe that no foreign party has any locus standi on issues pertaining to India’s sovereignty," the MEA spokesperson said.

"We are clear that the CAA is constitutionally valid and complies with all requirements of our constitutional values. It is reflective of our long standing national commitment in respect of human rights issues arising from the tragedy of the Partition of India.

"India is a democratic country governed by the rule of law. We all have utmost respect for and full trust in our independent judiciary. We are confident that our sound and legally sustainable position would be vindicated by the Hon’ble Supreme Court," Raveesh Kumar added.

The CAA provides for Indian citizenship to members of minority communities in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who fled to India before December 2014 after facing religious persecution in those countries.

The new law has attracted criticism in India and abroad for excluding Muslims from this provision.

NNN