New Delhi, Feb. 20 -- The Supreme Court on Thursday fixed May 5, 2026 as the date to commence final hearing in the batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) and the rules framed under it, setting the stage for what could be one of the most significant constitutional adjudications of the decade.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, sought clarity from counsel on the time required for arguments before drawing up a structured hearing schedule.

Recording that there are "two sets of cases assailing CAA 2019", the bench noted that the matters had earlier been categorised into two groups: Assam and Tripura c...