Supreme Court to Commence Hearing on Constitutional Validity of Section 6A of Citizenship Act
September 20, 2023, 14:20 IST
The Supreme Court announced on Wednesday that it will begin hearing on October 17 to examine the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, which pertains to illegal immigrants in Assam. This provision was inserted as a special measure to address the citizenship status of individuals covered the Assam Accord.
Section 6A states that individuals who arrived in Assam between January 1, 1966, and March 25, 1971, from specified territories including Bangladesh, and have resided in Assam since then, must register themselves under section 18 to acquire citizenship. Consequently, March 25, 1971 is designated as the cut-off date for granting citizenship to Bangladeshi migrants in Assam.
A five-judge Constitution bench, led Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, acknowledged that the counsels involved in the case have prepared a common compilation of materials. However, the compilation needs to be streamlined.
The bench directed the preparation of a common index and the submission of written arguments October 10. The title of the proceedings will be “In Re: Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955.” In December 2023, the bench had instructed the counsels to identify the issues to be adjudicated in the batch of petitions challenging the constitutionality of Section 6A.
The apex court registry has been instructed to provide scanned soft copies of all pleadings filed on this matter. Currently, there are 17 pending petitions on this issue in the apex court, including one filed Assam Public Works in 2009.
Furthermore, the Constitution bench had previously directed the parties to submit joint compilations of written submissions, precedents, and other documentary evidence to be relied upon during the hearing. These compilations will be prepared in three separate volumes with a common index.
Section 6A was incorporated into the Citizenship Act under the Assam Accord, a 1985 agreement between the All Assam Students Union, Assam government, and the Government of India. Its purpose is to detect and deport foreigners and grant citizenship to migrants in Assam.
In 2012, a Guwahati-based NGO challenged the constitutionality of Section 6A, arguing that it is arbitrary, discriminatory, and unconstitutional due to its varying dates for regularizing illegal migrants in Assam. The matter was subsequently referred to a two-judge bench, which later referred it to the Constitution bench in 2014.
(Note: This story has been published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI, without any edits News18 staff.)
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