The Supreme Court has made it clear that individuals seeking citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) cannot be treated as voters until their applications are officially approved. Hearing a petition that sought to include CAA applicants in West Bengal’s electoral rolls during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision, a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant questioned how voting rights could be extended before citizenship itself is granted.
The petition was filed by an NGO claiming that many refugees who have applied for citizenship under the CAA should be considered eligible for enrolment. Their counsel argued that once an application is filed, the applicant should not be denied participation in the electoral process.
The bench disagreed, highlighting that the government must first verify whether each applicant actually meets the legal requirements—such as belonging to the communities specified in the Act and fulfilling residency conditions. Justice Joymalya Bagchi underlined the sequence plainly: citizenship must come first, voter status later.
While the petitioners also urged the Court to order all pending applications to be decided within a fixed deadline, the judges said such directions could not be issued in a public-interest petition filed by a third party.
The Court has sought responses from the Union government and will revisit the matter after receiving their stand.
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