The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on August 19, 2026, issued amendment to Citizenship (Amendment) Act Implementation Order — Certain States/UTs Exempted.
This notification is issued by the Central Government under Section 6B(1) of the Citizenship Act, 1955, read with Rule 11A(1) and (3) of the Citizenship Rules, 2009 — provisions relating to the CAA-based citizenship application framework. It makes the earlier MHA order (S.O. 1231(E), dated March 11, 2024) inapplicable to Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, West Bengal, the non-tribal areas of Assam and Tripura, and the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
The notification also rescinds two subsequent orders — S.O. 941(E) (dated February 20, 2026) and S.O. 1110(E) (dated March 2, 2026) — though any actions already taken under them before this rescission remain valid and unaffected. Additionally, all Section 6B applications currently pending before the Empowered Committees and District-level Committees in the above states/UTs are to be transferred to the concerned District Collector.
In effect, this order withdraws the listed states/UTs from the earlier CAA implementation mechanism operating through Empowered/District Committees and shifts processing authority for pending citizenship applications directly to the District Collectors. The order comes into force immediately upon publication in the Official Gazette.
[Notification No. S.O. 4583(E)]
