The Supreme Court of India is set to commence a pivotal hearing on December 5 to scrutinize the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, a crucial provision concerning illegal immigrants in Assam. This section, a special provision under the Citizenship Act, was introduced as part of the Assam Accord to address the citizenship status of individuals in Assam, particularly those from specified territories including Bangladesh.
Section 6A delineates that individuals who arrived in Assam from January 1, 1966, to March 25, 1971, from specified territories, and have since been residents of Assam, are required to register for citizenship under section 18 of the Citizenship Act, as amended in 1985. This provision notably sets March 25, 1971, as the cut-off date for granting citizenship to Bangladeshi migrants in Assam.
A five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justices Surya Kant, MM Sundresh, JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra, is scheduled to take up this matter. The bench, during its hearing in September, stated that the title of the proceeding would be
“In Re: Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955.”
The bench further clarified,
“During the course of the hearing, it has been agreed that the contesting parties shall consist of (i) those who are challenging the constitutional validity of section 6A of the Citizenship Act 1955 on the one hand; and (ii) those including the Union of India and the State of Assam who are supporting the validity of the provision.”
This hearing follows several petitions pending in the Supreme Court regarding this issue. The Assam Accord, signed on August 15, 1985, by the All Assam Students Union, the Assam government, and the Government of India, aimed to detect and deport foreigners. Under this accord, Section 6A was inserted into the Citizenship Act to grant citizenship to people who migrated to Assam.
The constitutional validity of Section 6A was challenged in 2012 by a Guwahati-based NGO, which labeled the provision as arbitrary, discriminatory, and unconstitutional, arguing that it sets different dates for regularizing illegal migrants in Assam. This matter was referred to the Constitution bench by a two-judge bench in 2014.
The upcoming hearing is poised to be a significant event, potentially impacting the legal framework surrounding citizenship and immigration in Assam and India at large.
