The CAA’s Full Form in Law is the Citizenship Amendment Act. In order to reform the Citizenship Act of 1955, the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAA Bill) was first introduced in the Lok Sabha in 2016. A Joint Parliamentary Committee was tasked with reviewing this bill; it eventually turned in its findings on January 7, 2019. On January 8, 2019, the Lok Sabha enacted the Citizenship Amendment Bill, which expired on the same day as the 16th Lok Sabha was dissolved. Amit Shah, the Minister of Home Affairs, reintroduced this bill in the 17th Lok Sabha on December 9, which was subsequently passed on December 10. On December 1st, the Rajya Sabha also approved the measure.
Features of CAA in Law:
The CAA was passed to offer citizenship to undocumented immigrants who arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014, despite their lack of documentation. For immigrants of six various religions, including Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Hindus from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, the Act was passed. Any person who has lived in India for the last 12 months and 11 of the previous 14 years would be deemed qualified for this act. The period of residency has been shortened from 11 to 5 years for the designated class of unauthorized immigrants.