Supreme Court upholds key Citizenship Act section recognising Assam Accord

While four judges of the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, Justice Pardiwala gave a dissenting judgment.

In Short

• Supreme Court upholds Section 6A validity by 4:1 majority
• CJI says Assam Accord was political solution to problem of illegal migration
• Section 6A was added in 1985 following signing of Assam Accord

The Supreme Court, by a 4:1 majority, upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, that grants citizenship to immigrants who entered Assam between January 1, 1966, and March 25, 1971. Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and three other judges upheld the validity of the provision, with Justice Pardiwala dissenting.

CJI DY Chandrachud said that the Assam Accord was a political solution to the problem of illegal migration after the creation of Bangladesh and Section 6A was the legislative solution. The majority verdict also held that the cut-off date of March 25, 1971, was rational, as it was the date when the Bangladesh liberation war ended.

'PRINCIPLE IS LIVE AND LET LIVE'

"We cannot allow one to choose their neighbours, and it runs against their principle of fraternity. The principle is live and let live," Justice Surya Kant said.

The court also said that the mere presence of different ethnic groups in a state does not mean infringement of Article 29(1), which safeguards the right of persons to have a distinct language, script or culture of their own.

"Immigrants who entered Assam before the date of January 1, 1966, are deemed to be Indian citizens. Immigrants who entered Assam between the dates of January 1, 1966, and March 25, 1971, are entitled to seek Indian citizenship provided they fulfil the eligibility criteria," Justice Kant said.

The bench said that immigrants who entered Assam on or after March 25, 1971, were liable to be detected, detained and deported.

The Supreme Court said that the percentage of immigrants among the local population in Assam was higher than other states sharing a border with Bangladesh and thus the singling out of Assam was "rational".

"The impact of 40 lakh migrants in Assam is greater than the 57 lakh migrants in West Bengal because the land area in Assam is much less compared to West Bengal," the court said.

DISSENTING JUDGMENT

Justice Pardiwala, in his dissenting judgment, declared Section 6A as unconstitutional. "Section 6A has acquired unconstitutionality with the afflux of time," he said.

Justice Pardiwala said the legislature could have simply conferred citizenship to anyone who entered before 1971 and the creation of a statutory category from 1966 to 1971 was in view of the upcoming elections in the state.

"The very fact that a statutory category was created from 1966 to 1971 subject to a stricter condition (no voting rights for 10 years) would mean that conferment of citizenship was in fact to pacify the Assam people that such inclusion would not impact the then upcoming elections in the state," he said.

WHAT IS SECTION 6A OF CITIZENSHIP ACT?

Section 6A of the Citizenship Act 1955 allows migrants who came to Assam after January 1, 1966, but before March 25, 1971, to seek Indian citizenship.

Section 6A was added to the legislation in 1985 following the signing of the Assam Accord between the then Rajiv Gandhi government and the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) following a six-year-long agitation against the entry of migrants from Bangladesh.

The Union Home Ministry had stated in an affidavit that 17,861 migrants who had entered Assam between January 1966 and March 1971 were given citizenship.

The petitioners sought that the provision be deemed unconstitutional, claiming that setting a different cut-off date for citizenship in Assam was a discriminatory practice.