Breaking: Apex Court Upholds Constitutional Validity Of Section 6A Of Citizenship Act By A Majority Of 4:1

The Supreme Court today pronounced judgment in a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act related to the grant of Indian citizenship to illegal immigrants in Assam.

The Bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Surya Kant, Justice MM Sundresh, and Justice Manoj Misra upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955. However, Justice JB Pardiwala has dissented.

At the outset, the CJI said, "There are three opinions. One written by Justice Surya Kant, Justice MM Sundresh, and Justice Manoj Misra, one written by me (CJI himself) and a third one of Justice JB Pardiwala, wherein he has dissented...The majority of us have upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A."

Notably, in December 2023, the 5-Judge Bench had reserved its verdict in the petitions.

Section 6A in the Citizenship Act was inserted as a special provision to deal with the citizenship of people covered by the Assam Accord. The provision provides that those who have come to Assam on or after January 1, 1966 but before March 25, 1971 from specified territories, including Bangladesh, as per the Citizenship Act amended in 1985, and since then are residents of Assam. They must register themselves under section 18 for citizenship. As a result, the provision fixes March 25, 1971, as the cut-off date for granting citizenship to Bangladeshi migrants in Assam.

On September 20, 2023, the Court had said the title of the proceedings shall be "In Re: Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955." As many as 17 petitions, including the one filed by Assam Public Works in 2009, have been examined by the Apex Court.

Prior to this, the Constitution bench had directed the parties to file joint compilations consisting of written submissions, precedents, and any other documentary material on which reliance will be placed at the time of the hearing. The Bench had earlier directed that a common index be prepared in three separate volumes of the above compilations.

Under the Assam Accord signed by the All Assam Students Union, the Assam government, and the Government of India on August 15, 1985, to detect and deport the foreigners, Section 6A was inserted into the Citizenship Act to grant citizenship to people who have migrated to Assam. A Guwahati-based NGO challenged Section 6A in 2012, terming it arbitrary, discriminatory, and unconstitutional, claiming it provides different dates for regularising illegal migrants in Assam. A two-judge bench had referred the matter to the Constitution bench in 2014.

Cause Title: In Re Section 6A of the Citizenship Act 1955 [WP (C) No. 274/2009]

Click here to read/download the Judgment