The district collectors of Mehsana and Anand in the state of Gujarat have been empowered by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to grant citizenship certificates to the members of the Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Christian, Buddhist, and Jain communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.

The October 31 notification was issued under the Citizenship Act, 1955, and is not related to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019 as the rules under the act are yet to be framed. The notification issued by the ministry has also asked the authorities to follow all the conditions, including the application for registration as a citizen of India. The application should be made online and the verification shall be done by the Collector at the district level and forwarded to central agencies, the notification further mentions.

This is not the first time that the MHA has granted such power to district magistrates or collectors; similar orders were issued in 2016, 2018, and 2021, giving district magistrates in several districts of Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab the authority to issue citizenship certificates to refugees from the six communities who entered India legally. 

Currently, Indian citizenship can be acquired on eight grounds—based on registration made by a person of Indian origin; by a person married to an Indian; a minor child, whose parents are registered as citizens of India; by a person who or either of the parents was a citizen of Independent India; overseas citizens of India; by naturalization and registration of a child at an Indian consulate.

Notably, the CAA 2019 rules have not been framed yet. Earlier, in August, Union home minister Amit Shah stated that the laws regarding the CAA will be framed after the Covid precaution dose vaccination exercise is over.