New Delhi

The Supreme Court on Monday posted for hearing on December 6 a batch of petitions challenging the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019.

A bench of Chief Justice of India UU Lalit and Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Bela M Trivedi granted two weeks to Assam and Tripura governments to file their responses on the pleas.

It also appointed two lawyers as nodal counsel in the batch of cases challenging the validity of the Act.

Advocate Pallavi Pratap, advocate for petitioner Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and advocate Kanu Agrawal, counsel for the Central government, were nominated as nodal counsel to prepare a compilation of all relevant documents.

At least 220 petitions against the CAA were filed before the top court.

CAA was passed by Parliament on December 11, 2019 and came into effect on January 10, 2020.

The law fast-tracks the process of granting citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who fled religious persecution in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan and took refuge in India on or before December 31, 2014.

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The top court had earlier issued notice to the Centre and refused to pass an interim order staying the law without hearing the Centre.