Assam Accord: SC Questions Center’s Selective Citizenship Grant

The Supreme Court on Thursday questioned the Centre’s decision to single out Assam and exclude West Bengal from the grant of citizenship under section 6A of the Citizenship Act, despite the latter sharing a much larger border with Bangladesh. Section 6A of the Citizenship Act pertains to illegal immigrants in Assam.

A five-judge Constitution bench, comprising of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justices Surya Kant, M M Sundresh, J B Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra, directed inquiries to Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, about the government’s measures to safeguard the border. The bench sought clarification on why West Bengal was omitted from citizenship grant, emphasizing that the argument based on Assam’s agitation could not be the sole reason.

As the proceedings began, the Centre clarified that the examination of the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act was unrelated to other amendments in the Act. Mehta informed the constitution bench that Section 6A’s application was confined to a specific time frame and a limited number of individuals.

“I would like to begin with some factual clarifications. Your lordships are examining a limited question of constitutional validity of Section 6A. This is confined to a very few individuals during a particular period of time. This examination has nothing to do with any other amendment to the Citizenship Act,” Mehta informed the bench.

Mehta acknowledged the concerns raised by petitioners, such as the influx of immigrants and resource scarcity, stating that these concerns were valid. He explained that the category of individuals deemed citizens under Section 6A was limited to a specific geographic area, applying only to Bangladesh.

During the hearing, the CJI remarked on those who benefited from citizenship under Section 6A and questioned the fate of illegal immigrants who were not granted citizenship. He highlighted the subset of people who arrived in India between 1966-1971 but were not granted citizenship due to the need for detection.

The ongoing hearing is addressing Section 6A, inserted into the Citizenship Act as a special provision dealing with the citizenship of individuals covered by the Assam Accord. This provision establishes the cutoff date for granting citizenship to Bangladeshi migrants in Assam as March 25, 1971.