The Supreme Court by majority verdict on Thursday upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act which grants citizenship to immigrants in Assam.
The five-judge Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Chandrachud, Justices Surya Kant, MM Sundresh, Manoj Misra and Justice JB Pardiwala penned three judgements and, by a majority of 4:1, upheld validity of Section 6A of Citizenship law.
CJI Chandrachud, Justices Surya Kant, MM Sundresh and Manoj Misra concurred on the validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, while Justice JB Pardiwala in minority verdict dissented and held it unconstitutional.
The top court on December 12 last year had reserved its order after hearing the submissions of Attorney General R Venkataramani, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, senior advocates Shyam Divan, Kapil Sibal and others for four days.
The bench reserved its order on 17 petitions questioning the constitutional validity of Section 6A, which was inserted into the Citizenship Act as a special provision to deal with the citizenship of people covered under the Assam Accord.
The Section 6A of Citizenship Act says those who came to Assam on or after January 1, 1966, but before March 25, 1971, from specified territories, including Bangladesh, in accordance with the Citizenship Act amended in 1985, and since then are residents of the northeastern state, must register themselves under Section 18 for acquiring Indian citizenship.
As a result, the provision fixes March 25, 1971, as the cut-off date for granting citizenship to migrants, particularly those from Bangladesh, residing in Assam.
The Supreme Court majority verdict on Thursday, October 17, held that the cut off date of March 25, 1971 for entry into Assam and granting citizenship is correct. The apex court majority verdict added that mere presence of different ethnic groups in a state does not mean infringement of Article 29(1) of the Indian Constitution, which states that citizens of India with a distinct language, script, or culture have the right to preserve it.
Legislation may be valid at time of enactment but may become temporarily flawed with time, Justice Pardiwala, in minority verdict, said on Section 6A.
(With PTI inputs)
