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At least three people died in the violence, as thousands took to streets across the country. Two people died from injuries sustained during a protest in the city of Mangalore, in the southern state of Karnataka, a senior doctor at the Highland Hospital told CNN. One more person died from firearm injuries during a protest in Lucknow, the capital of northern Uttar Pradesh state, according to a senior doctor at the King George Medical University in the city.
In Uttar Pradesh, protesters and police violently clashed in Lucknow, with buildings and vehicles set alight. And in Sambhal city buses were torched by protesters.
In the capital New Delhi attempts by authorities to prevent demonstrations proved ineffective, as large crowds brought parts of the downtown area to a standstill.
Colonial-era law
New Delhi police imposed Section 144 around the Red Fort ahead of Thursday's protest, after police denied permission for the march. The law was also imposed in Bengaluru, and across the entire state of Uttar Pradesh -- India's largest and most populous.
Organizers of nationwide action called for people to gather regardless of the prohibitory restrictions. "Section 144 being imposed by the police is an attempt to thwart our march. This will not deter us. We will gather there for our march," Yogendra Yadav, founder of Swaraj Abhiyaan, a group that organized the march told CNN ahead of Thursday's march in Delhi.
Many of who marched said the government is using bans on public gatherings to muzzle the voices of Indian people.
Vodafone tweeted in a reply to a customer that services were stopped in six locations across the city. CNN has reached out to local authorities for confirmation.
Outside of Delhi's Red Fort, demonstrators said it was their right to protest.
"What they're doing is wrong. We oppose the CAA. We oppose not being allowed to protest. We are Indian and Muslim. We can be both. All religions can live in India," said local resident Rubina Zafar.
Protests escalate
The restrictions come after ongoing protests against the citizenship law have turned violent in recent days, with police and protesters involved in street clashes.
In the northeastern state of Assam ongoing protests have turned deadly, with at least five people killed, police said.
Protests in the northeast are different, however. Many indigenous groups there fear that giving citizenship to large numbers of immigrants would change the unique ethnic make-up of the region and their way of life, regardless of religion.
The widespread civil action comes a day after India's Supreme Court refused to halt implementation of the citizenship law, though it will hear a raft of petitions that question the law's constitutionality.
"It hurts the spirit of India. We are going to fight this till the end," said Abhishek Manu Sanghvi, a senior leader from India's main opposition Congress Party on Wednesday.
CNN's Vedika Sud, Swati Gupta and Manveena Suri contributed reporting.