![[BREAKING] Supreme Court upholds constitutionality of Section 6A of Citizenship Act in 4:1 verdict](https://i0.wp.com/lawchakra.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/image-1-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1)
Today, On 17th October, In a 4:1 verdict, the Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act. This provision pertains to the special citizenship rules for Assam, introduced under the Assam Accord of 1985. The court’s decision confirms the legality of the section, which grants citizenship to migrants who entered Assam before 1971.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court, on Thursday, delivered its verdict regarding petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, which deals with granting Indian citizenship to illegal immigrants in Assam.
The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act.
A five-judge constitution bench, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, is expected to pronounce the judgment.
There are three separate opinions in the case. Justice JB Pardiwala issued a dissenting opinion, while Justice Suryakant has written on behalf of himself and others. The Chief Justice of India (CJI) authored his own opinion. The majority ruling affirms the constitutionality of Section 6A.
As per Section 6A, individuals who entered India between January 1, 1966, and March 25, 1971, and have been residing in Assam, are eligible to register as Indian citizens.
“Subject to the provisions of sub-sections (6) and (7), all persons of Indian origin who came before the 1st day of January, 1966 to Assam from the specified territory (including such of those whose names were included in the electoral rolls used for the purposes of the General Election to the House of the People held in 1967) and who have been ordinarily resident in Assam since the dates of their entry into Assam shall be deemed to be citizens of India as from the 1st day of January, 1966.”
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A Constitution Bench consisting of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices Surya Kant, MM Sundresh, JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra upheld the validity of Section 6A in a 4:1 majority, with Justice Pardiwala dissenting. While delivering his concurring judgment with the majority opinion authored by Justice Surya Kant, the CJI remarked,
“The Central government could have extended the application of the Act to other areas, but it was not done because it was unique to the magnitude of Assam.”
The decision in this case is expected to have significant implications for the Assam National Register of Citizens (NRC) list. During the hearings, the Court acknowledged that Section 6A was introduced, in part, to address the atrocities faced by the population of East Bengal following the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. As the Bench orally observed, the provision should not be compared to a general amnesty scheme for illegal immigrants.
The CJI also commented that the validity of Section 6A cannot be judged based on political developments that occurred after its enactment.
The Union Home Ministry, in its affidavit, informed the Court that it was unable to provide accurate data on the extent of illegal migration into India, as such migrations happen covertly. It did, however, confirm that 14,346 foreign nationals were deported from India between 2017 and 2022, and 17,861 migrants who had entered Assam between January 1966 and March 1971 were granted Indian citizenship.
The counsel opposing Section 6A included Senior Advocate Shyam Divan, along with Advocate Somiran Sharma, representing the All Assam Ahom Association; Senior Advocate KN Choudhury, appearing for the Assam Sanmilita Mahasangha; and Senior Advocate Vijay Hansaria, representing Pranab Mazumdar.
On the other hand, the counsel supporting Section 6A comprised Attorney General R Venkataramani, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, and Advocate Sneha Kalita for the Union government; Advocate Shuvodeep Roy for the State of Assam; Senior Advocate Malvika Trivedi for the All Assam Students’ Union; and Senior Advocate Sanjay R. Hegde, with Advocate Adeel Ahmed, for the Assam Sankhyalaghu Sangram Parishad.
Additional supporters included Senior Advocate Salman Khurshid for the Assam Jamiat Ulema; Senior Advocate CU Singh for Citizens for Justice and Peace; Senior Advocate Shadan Farasat, alongside Advocates Natasha Maheshwari, Prannv Dhawan, Hrishika Jain, Aman Naqvi, Abhishek Babbar, Mreganka Kukreja, Harshit Anand, and Shadab Azhar, for the Social Justice Forum.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal for Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind; and Senior Advocate Indira Jaising, with Advocate Paras Nath Singh, for the All Assam Minorities Students’ Union. In addition, Advocate Sahil Tagotra appeared for the Election Commission of India.
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