SC upholds validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, which grants citizenship to immigrants in Assam

Latest News :- The Supreme Court has upheld Section 6A of the Indian Citizenship Act, which guarantees citizenship to people who migrated to Assam between January 1, 1966, and March 25, 1971. The Constitution Bench of 5 judges gave this decision with a majority of 4:1. Speaking, the Chief Justice said that the Assam Accord is a political solution to the problem of illegal immigrants. Chief Justice TY Chandrachud, Justice Surya Kant, Justice M.M. In a five-judge session presided over by. Sundaresh, Manoj Mishra, JP Pardiwala were present. Chief Justice Chandrachud upheld the validity of Section 6A in his decision. He further said, considering the small land area and the extensive process of detecting foreigners, the inflow of migrants is higher in Assam compared to other states.

Judge M.M. Justice Surya Kant, who also delivered the judgment on behalf of Sundaresh and Manoj Mishra, said he agreed with the Chief Justice's decision. He further said that Parliament has the legislative power to enact such a provision. Only Justice Pardiwala gave the dissenting judgment. He said in his decision that Section 6A of the Act is unconstitutional. The majority decision of the Constituent Session confirmed that the deadline of 25 March 1971 for obtaining Assamese citizenship was correct. It was also held that Article 29(1) does not violate Article 29(1) merely because there are different ethnic groups in a State. Furthermore, the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court dismissed all petitions questioning the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act.

Section 6A of the Citizenship Act allows the granting of Indian citizenship to illegal immigrants, especially those from Bangladesh, who came to Assam between 1 January 1966 and 25 March 1971. This practice was incorporated in 1985 following the Assam Accord between then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's government at the Center and the All Assam Students Union. According to the Indian Citizenship Amendment Act, 1985, persons who migrated to Assam from certain areas including Bangladesh on or after January 1, 1966, but before March 25, 1971, and continued to reside there thereafter, are subject to Section 18 Have to register yourself. As a result, the practice has been finalized so that migrants living in Assam, especially migrants from Bangladesh, can acquire Indian citizenship only if they came before 25 March 1971.