The Supreme Court
♦ The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6(A) of the Citizenship Act related to the grant of Indian citizenship to immigrants in Assam by a majority verdict of 4:1 on 17 October 2024. A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices Surya Kant, MM Sundresh, and Manoj Misra gave the majority verdict, while JB Pardiwala passed a dissent verdict.
♦ The section 6(A) was inserted in 1985 following the Assam Accord. It created a special provision for Assam by which persons of Indian origin who came from Bangladesh before 1st January 1966, were deemed to be citizens of India as of that date.
♦ The section also said that, Persons of Indian origin who entered Assam between 1st January 1966, and 25th March 1971, and were required to register themselves. They were granted citizenship only after 10 years of residence.
♦ However, Section 6(A) specified a cut-off date of 25th March, 1971 and said that persons entering after the cutoff date will be termed illegal immigrants.
Posted Date: October 17, 2024
National