SC refuses to accord urgent hearing on plea seeking to declare CAA as constitutional

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused urgent hearing of a plea seeking to declare the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as constitutional and a direction to all states seeking its implementation.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde expressed surprise over the petition and said this is the first time that someone is seeking that an Act be declared as constitutional.

"This court's job is to determine the validity of a law and not declare it as constitutional," the bench also comprising justice B R Gavai and Surya Kant said. The bench said it will hear the petitions challenging the validity of CAA when the violence stops.

The observation came after advocate Vineet Dhanda sought urgent listing of his plea to declare CAA as constitutional and a direction to all states for implementation of the Act. The plea has also sought action against activists, students and media houses for "spreading rumours".