“The empowered committee may make such inquiry as it considers necessary for ascertaining the suitability of the applicant, including obtaining a report from the security agency, to be uploaded online by the agency and accessible to the committee,” stated the detailed order.
The committees at the state and Union Territory level are required to maintain an “online register containing the details of persons so registered or naturalised as a citizen of India, which shall be accessible to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the security agency,” the CAA rules noted. The CAA 2019 seeks to grant Indian citizenship to refugees who had sought shelter in India before December 31, 2014, due to religious persecution in three neighbouring countries — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
According to the notification issued by the Union home ministry late Monday night, the empowered committee will be headed by the director (census operations) of the state or union territory. It shall consist of an officer in the Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau (SIB) not below the rank of deputy secretary to the Government of India, jurisdictional foreigner’s regional registration officer (FRRO). The district-level committee, which has been tasked to collect documents from the applicants, will consist of only two persons including the chair, the order stated.
The applicant under CAA will have to take the oath of allegiance and sign the oath of allegiance before the district-level officers who will be required to forward the same in electronic form along with confirmation regarding verification of the documents to the empowered committee. If satisfied, the committee will provide digital certificates of citizenship to the applicant. A hard copy will be issued if the applicant demands, the rules state.
