Citizenship Act: Supreme Court Upholds Key Section That Recognised Assam Accord

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, thereby granting citizenship to immigrants who entered Assam before 1971. The section was inserted by way of an amendment in 1985 in furtherance of the Assam Accord.

The Constitution Bench of five judges, headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, made the decision in a 4:1 majority. Chandrachud and Justices Surya Kant, MM Sundresh and Manoj Misra ruled in favour. Justice JB Pardiwala dissented.

The top court had reserved its order on the matter on Dec. 12 last year, after a four-day hearing that included submissions from Attorney General R Venkataramani, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, and senior advocates Shyam Divan and Kapil Sibal.

While delivering the majority judgment, the Chief Justice noted that the enactment of Section 6A was a political response to the unique challenges faced by Assam, due to significant migration following the creation of Bangladesh, which has seriously threatened the state's culture and demographics.

He explained that while the central government could have applied the act to other regions, it chose not to because the situation in Assam was distinct. Chandrachud highlighted that the impact of 40 lakh migrants in Assam is more significant than that of 57 lakh migrants in West Bengal, largely due to Assam's smaller land area.

As per Section 6A, people who entered India between Jan. 1, 1966 and March 25, 1971 and have been living in Assam, will be allowed to register themselves as citizens of India.

The northeastern state and West Bengal saw a flood of refugees between 1970 and 1971 amid conflict in the then East Pakistan. The 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War had displaced thousands.

The Union Home Ministry informed the Court that it is unable to provide accurate data on the extent of illegal migration into India, citing the secretive nature of such migrations, as reported by Bar and Bench.