Editor's Pick | Government helpline says local priests can certify CAA eligibility

According to a response received by The Hindu from the Union Home Ministry’s CAA helpline, a local priest may issue an “eligibility certificate” under the Act to validate the religion of an applicant. The certificate, which is a mandatory document, is required to be enclosed with the affidavit and other necessary documents as part of the application on the CAA portal. The rules for CAA were notified on March 11 and the helpline was launched on March 21. However, the rules did not specify the authority or the body that can issue the certificate. It was learnt that the certificate is to be issued by a “locally reputed community institution”. “It can be on a blank sheet of paper or on a judicial paper with a stamp value of ₹10,” the operator told The Hindu. Further, sources told The Hindu that the final decision to grant citizenship would be taken by an empowered committee. The local institution is only recommending that they belong to a particular faith, the source said. The CAA facilitates citizenship to undocumented people — belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi, Christian, and Jain communities — from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, who entered India on or before December 31, 2014. It fast tracks the citizenship process by reducing the eligibility requirement for such applicants to five years of continuous stay in India instead of the usual 12 years. Read more about who stands to benefit from the CAA rules here. According to Dharamveer Solanki, 44, around 100 Pakistani Hindus living in the Majnu ka Tila area of north Delhi have registered on the portal so far. He said that some of them received the eligibility certificate from the Arya Samaj Mandir and some Shiv Mandir nearby. The CAA rules had been notified on March 11, 2023, four years after the Act was passed by Parliament and received the President’s assent. Take a look at the legal issues and status of judicial proceedings associated with the Act here. The Hindu’s Editorials Timely restatement: On pre-trial injunctions against the media and Court order Toxic words: On the discourse in politics and women politicians The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz Who is India’s Chief Economic Advisor? V. Anantha Nageswaran Raghuram Rajan Montek Ahluwalia Raghuram Rajan To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 28 March 2024 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]Open in browser [Mail icon]More newsletters Government helpline says local priests can certify CAA eligibility According to a response received by The Hindu from the Union Home Ministry’s CAA helpline, a local priest may issue an “eligibility certificate” under the Act to validate the religion of an applicant. The certificate, which is a mandatory document, is required to be enclosed with the affidavit and other necessary documents as part of the application on the CAA portal. The rules for [CAA were notified on March 11]( and the helpline was launched on March 21. However, the rules did not specify the authority or the body that can issue the certificate. It was learnt that the certificate is to be issued by a “locally reputed community institution”. “It can be on a blank sheet of paper or on a judicial paper with a stamp value of ₹10,” the operator told The Hindu. Further, sources told The Hindu that the final decision to grant citizenship would be taken by an empowered committee. The local institution is only recommending that they belong to a particular faith, the source said. The CAA facilitates citizenship to undocumented people — belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi, Christian, and Jain communities — from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, who entered India on or before December 31, 2014. It fast tracks the citizenship process by reducing the eligibility requirement for such applicants to five years of continuous stay in India instead of the usual 12 years. Read more about [who stands to benefit from the CAA rules here](. According to Dharamveer Solanki, 44, around 100 Pakistani Hindus living in the Majnu ka Tila area of north Delhi have registered on the portal so far. He said that some of them received the eligibility certificate from the Arya Samaj Mandir and some Shiv Mandir nearby. The CAA rules had been notified on March 11, 2023, four years after the Act was passed by Parliament and received the President’s assent. Take a look at the[legal issues and status of judicial proceedings]( associated with the Act here. The Hindu’s Editorials [Arrow][Timely restatement: On pre-trial injunctions against the media and Court order]( [Arrow][Toxic words: On the discourse in politics and women politicians]( The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz Who is India’s Chief Economic Advisor? - V. Anantha Nageswaran - Raghuram Rajan - Montek Ahluwalia - Raghuram Rajan To know the answer and to play the full quiz, [click here](. 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