SC upholds validity of Section 6A of Citizenship Act by 4:1 majority

'Assam Accord was a political solution to the problem of...'

In a majority verdict, the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act which grants Indian citizenship to immigrants who came to Assam between January 1, 1966 and March 25, 1971.

A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said the Assam Accord was a political solution to the problem of illegal migration.

Section 6A was inserted into the Citizenship Act as a special provision to deal with the citizenship of people covered under the Assam Accord.

The CJI, writing for himself, upheld the validity and said the magnitude of influx of migrants in Assam is higher as compared to other states considering the smaller land size and the detection of foreigner is an elaborate process. Besides, Justice Surya Kant, who wrote for himself and Justices M M Sundresh and Manoj Misra, concurred with the CJI and held that Parliament had the legislative competence to enact such a provision.

The majority verdict held that the cutoff date of March 25, 1971 for entry into Assam and granting citizenship is correct. Mere presence of different ethnic groups in a state does not mean infringement of Article 29(1), it added.

• Justice J B Pardiwala, however, dissented and held Section 6A as unconstitutional

• Section 6A was inserted into the Citizenship Act as a special provision to deal with the citizenship of people covered under the Assam Accord

Justice J B Pardiwala, however, dissented and held Section 6A as unconstitutional. The bench rejected the petitions questioning the constitutional validity of Section 6A.