District collectors in eight states and Union territories have been empowered to process pending citizenship applications under India’s Citizenship Amendment Act, shifting authority from committees made up of central government officials.
The Union home ministry’s notification on Wednesday covers Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. In Assam and Tripura, the order excludes tribal areas.
The move transfers applications pending before empowered committees to district collectors, who will verify applicants’ documents, conduct inquiries where required, determine eligibility and administer the oath of allegiance.
The Citizenship Amendment Act, passed in 2019, provides a pathway to Indian citizenship for members of six non-Muslim religious communities — Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians — who fled persecution in Bangladesh, Afghanistan or Pakistan. Applicants must have entered India by Dec. 31, 2014, and meet the residence requirements under the law.
The government notified rules for implementing the law in March 2024, more than four years after parliament passed the legislation.
The change comes after the central government established four empowered committees in West Bengal ahead of the state’s April elections to process citizenship applications under the law. The arrangement had reduced the state government’s role in the process while the Trinamool Congress was in power.
The Bharatiya Janata Party subsequently defeated the TMC and formed the government in West Bengal in May, with Suvendu Adhikari becoming chief minister.
Citizenship is a matter for the federal government under India’s Constitution, although state authorities can be involved in administrative and verification procedures, including providing infrastructure and conducting police checks.
Under the revised procedure, an application can be rejected if the applicant fails to appear before the authorities or does not take the oath of allegiance despite being given reasonable opportunities to do so.
The notification does not alter the substantive eligibility criteria under the Citizenship Amendment Act but changes which local authority handles applications in the eight states and territories.
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