THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
New Delhi, Oct 17: The Supreme Court, in a majority decision on Thursday, upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, allowing Indian citizenship for immigrants who came to Assam between January 1, 1966, and March 25, 1971.
A five-judge Constitution bench, chaired by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, remarked that the Assam Accord was a political resolution to the issue of illegal migration.
The ruling added that the mere presence of various ethnic groups in a state does not constitute a violation of Article 29(1) of the Constitution.
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Section 6A was introduced into the Citizenship Act as a special provision to handle the citizenship status of those included under the Assam Accord.
Writing for himself, the Chief Justice of India upheld the validity, noting that Assam faces a higher influx of migrants than other states due to its smaller land area, and the process of detecting foreigners is intricate.
Additionally, Justice Surya Kant, writing on behalf of himself and Justices M M Sundresh and Manoj Misra, agreed with the CJI, affirming that Parliament had the legislative authority to pass such a provision.
Justice J B Pardiwala, on the other hand, expressed dissent and ruled that Section 6A is unconstitutional.
The majority decision maintained that the cut-off date of March 25, 1971, for entry into Assam and the grant of citizenship is justified.
