Supreme Court Reserves Order On Challenge To Validity Of Citizenship Act Section

The Supreme Court today reserved its order on petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act related to grant of Indian citizenship to illegal immigrants in Assam.

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud heard the submissions of Attorney General R Venkataramani, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, senior advocates Shyam Divan, Kapil Sibal and others for four days before reserving the judgement.

The bench, also comprising Justices Surya Kant, MM Sundresh, JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, reserved order on 17 petitions questioning the constitutional validity of Section 6A, which was inserted into the Citizenship Act as a special provision to deal with the citizenship of people covered under the Assam Accord.

It says those who came to Assam on or after January 1, 1966 but before March 25, 1971 from specified territories, including Bangladesh, in accordance with the Citizenship Act amended in 1985, and since then are residents of the northeastern state, must register themselves under Section 18 for acquiring Indian citizenship.

As a result, the provision fixes March 25, 1971 as the cut-off date for granting citizenship to migrants, particularly those from Bangladesh, residing in Assam.
 

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