Context:
The Supreme Court, in a landmark 4:1 majority ruling, upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, of 1955.
Key Highlights of the Ruling
- The bench ruled that the immigrants who entered the State of Assam on or after March 25, 1971, are not entitled to the protection conferred under Section 6A and consequently, they are declared illegal immigrants.
- While upholding the provision, the Bench also called for stricter implementation of laws against illegal immigration and judicial monitoring of the implementation of immigration and citizenship legislations.
- Several NGOs in Assam had challenged the constitutional validity of Section 6A on the ground that setting a different cut-off date for citizenship in Assam is discriminatory and violates the right to equality under Article 14.
- Doesn’t Violate Right to Equality: The judgement held that Section 6A is not violative of Articles 6 and 7 of the Constitution (which prescribes January 26, 1950, as the cut-off date for conferring citizenship for the rest of India) as the migrant situation in Assam was unique in comparison to the rest of India.
- Thus, there was a need to balance the humanitarian needs of migrants with the impact of migration on the economic and cultural needs of Indian States.
- The majority judgement also held that Parliament has the power to grant citizenship under different conditions so long as the differentiation is reasonable.
- The Bench also held that Section 6A does not clash with Article 14, Article 21, Article 29, the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950 — or established principles of international law.
Historical Background
- The Assam Accord was signed on 15th August 1985 amongst the Union of India, the Government of Assam, and leaders of the Assam movement, particularly the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), to stop illegal migrants from Bangladesh.
- Clause 5 of the Accord specified that January 1, 1966, shall serve as the base cut-off date for the detection and deletion of “foreigners” but it also contains provisions for the regularisation of those who arrived in the state after that date and up till March 24, 1971.
- Thus, Section 6A was inserted into the Citizenship Act to give effect to the citizenship criteria of the Assam Accord.
Why is the cut-off date March 25, 1971?
- The Pakistani Army launched Operation Searchlight to curb the Bangladeshi nationalist movement in East Pakistan on March 26, 1971 before this date migrants were considered migrants of the Indian partition.