SC upholds Section 6A of Citizenship Act per the Assam Accord

On 17 October, Thursday, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act related to the grant of Indian citizenship to illegal immigrants in Assam by a majority verdict of 4:1.

A Constitution Bench, headed by CJI D. Y. Chandrachud, was dealing with a clutch of petitions challenging the vires of Section 6A, which was inserted to give effect to the Assam Accord and formed the basis of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam in 2019. They said that the Assam Accord was a political solution to the problem of illegal migration.

Justices Surya Kant, M.M. Sundresh and Manoj Misra in their majority verdict held that Parliament had the legislative competence to enact the provision.

In December 2023, the five-judge bench, also comprising justices Surya Kant, M.M. Sundresh, J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, reserved its decision after hearing oral arguments from both sides.

The majority upheld the constitutional validity of the impugned provision, while Justice Pardiwala, in his minority opinion, struck down Section 6A of the Citizenship Act with prospective effect, calling it 'unconstitutional'.

During the hearing, the Supreme Court had asked the Union government to inform it about the administrative steps taken to prevent the inflow of illegal immigrants into Indian territory in northeastern states, particularly in Assam.

It had called for a common affidavit from the Union and Assam governments about the number of Bangladeshi immigrants granted citizenship in Assam between 1 January 1966 and 25 March 1971, under Section 6A(2) of the Citizenship Act, 1955.

In response, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that illegal immigrants entered the country in a clandestine and surreptitious manner, and therefore, it is not possible to collect accurate data on such people.

Earlier, the top court had observed that the primary question in the case was "whether Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, suffers from any constitutional infirmity".

The amended Section 6A provided that "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 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".

In its majority verdict, the Supreme Court has now upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act which grants Indian citizenship to immigrants who came to Assam between 1 January 1966 and 25 March 1971 as well, per the Assam Accord.

The five-judge Constitution bench 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.

CJI D.Y. Chandrachud, writing for himself, upheld its 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 foreigners is an elaborate process.

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 cut-off date towards granting citizenship of entry into Assam by 25 March 1971 .

The 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.

Given the majority verdict, the bench rejected the petitions questioning the constitutional validity of Section 6A.

Section 6A of the Citizenship Act grants Indian citizenship benefits to illegal immigrants — mostly from Bangladesh, who entered Assam between 1 January 1966 and 25 March 1971. The provision was incorporated in 1985, following the signing of the Assam Accord between the Rajiv Gandhi government at the Centre and the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU).

It says those who came to Assam on or after 1 January 1966 but before 25 March 1971 from specified territories, including Bangladesh, and since then are residents of the northeastern state must, in accordance with the Citizenship Act amended in 1985, register themselves under Section 18 to acquire Indian citizenship.

As a result, the provision fixes 25 March 1971 as the cut-off date for granting citizenship to migrants, particularly those from Bangladesh, residing in Assam.