In a majority verdict, the Supreme Court on Thursday held upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, which pertains to the grant of Indian citizenship to illegal immigrants in Assam.
In a majority verdict of 4:1, a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud noted that the Assam Accord was a political solution to the problem of illegal migration in the state.
Justices Surya Kant, M M Sundresh and Manoj Misra in their majority verdict held that Parliament had the legislative competence to enact the provision. Justice Pardiwala gave a dissenting judgment to hold Section 6A as unconstitutional.
It said that cut off date of March 25, 1971 for entry into Assam and granting of citizenship is correct.
The bench obserbed that the mere presence of different ethnic groups in a state does not mean infringement of Article 29(1). Article 29(1) of the Constitution states that citizens with a distinct language, script, or culture have the right to preserve it.
What is Section 6A of Citizenship Act?
Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, was introduced through an amendment in 1985 following the Assam Accord.
The accord was signed to address the issue of illegal migration in Assam.
It was inserted into the Citizenship Act as a special provision to deal with the issue of citizenship.
The provision grants Indian citizenship to individuals who migrated to Assam from Bangladesh before January 1, 1966.
It further says that those who came to Assam on or after January 1, 1966, but before March 25, 1971, from specified territories, including Bangladesh, in accordance with the Citizenship Act amended in 1985, and since then are residents of the northeastern state, must register themselves under Section 18 for acquiring Indian citizenship.
They had to wait for 10 years before being granted citizenship, during which they did not have voting rights.
Migrants who came after March 24, 1971 were to be detected and deported as illegal immigrants.
(With inputs from PTI)
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