LexIN RE : SECTION 6A OF THE CITIZENSHIP ACT 1955 versus
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[2024] 10 S.C.R. 961 : 2024 INSC 789 In Re : Section 6A of The Citizenship Act 1955 (Writ Petition (C) No. 274 of 2009) 17 October 2024 [Dr Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud,* CJI, Surya Kant,* J.B. Pardiwala,* M.M. Sundresh, and Manoj Misra, JJ.] Issue for Consideration Issue arose as regards the constitutional validity of s.6A of the Citizenship Act; does s.6A offend preambular values like fraternity; s.6A, if ultra vires Part II of the Constitution; does s.6A create an unreasonable classification which violates Art. 14; does s.6A suffer from manifest arbitrariness; does s.6A violate the rights provided to ‘indigenous’ communities u/Art. 29; s.6A, if ultra vires Art. 21; does s.6A violate the political rights of Indian citizens in Assam u/Art. 326; does the operation of s.6A cause ‘external aggression’ and ‘internal disturbance’, culminating in the invocation of Art. 355; does the Citizenship Act conflict with provisions of the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam Act), 1950, if so, how can the two legislations be harmoniously interpreted; and does s.6A violate international laws. Headnotes† Constitutional validity of s.6A of the Citizenship Act Citizenship Act, 1955 – s.6A – Special provisions as to citizenship of persons covered by the Assam Accord – s.6A confering citizenship on a specific class of migrants from Bangladesh to Assam – Provision conferred deemed citizenship to immigrants who entered prior to 01.01.1966; and process of registration for immigrants who entered between the period of 01.01.1966 and 25.03.1971 – However, immigrants who entered the State of Assam on or after 25.03.1971 not entitled to the protection conferred vide s.6A and consequently, declared to be illegal immigrants – Constitutional validity: Held: (per Surya Kant, J.) (for himself and for M.M. Sundresh and Manoj Misra, JJ.) s.6A is constitutionally valid – s.6A falls within the bounds of the Constitution and is a valid piece of *Author 962 [2024] 10 S.C.R. Digital Supreme Court Reports legislation – It does not contravene the foundational principles of fraternity, nor does it infringe upon Arts. 6, 7, 9, 14, 21, 29, 326, or 355 – s.6A does not clash with the IEAA or established principles of international law – While the statutory scheme of s.6A is constitutionally valid, there is inadequate enforcement of the same, leading to the possibility of widespread injustice – Intention of s.6A, to restrict illegal immigration post-1971 has also not been given proper effect – s.6A has become redundant qua those immigrants who have entered the State of Assam on or after 25.03.1971 – In view thereof, directions issued in Sarbananda Sonowal’s case to be given effect to for deporting the illegal immigrants falling in the said category – Provisions of the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950 to be read into s.6A and be effectively employed for identification of illegal immigrants – Statutory machinery and tribunals tasked with the identification and detection of illegal immigrants or foreigners in Assam are inadequate to the legislative object of s.6A read with Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, Foreigners Act, 1946, Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964, Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and Passport Act, 1967, thus, necessitates constant monitoring by this Court – Bench to be constituted to monitor the implementation of the directions issued. [Paras 387, 391, 392] – Held: (per Dr Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, CJI.) (Concurring) s.6A not violative of Arts. 6 and 7 of the Constitution – s.6A does not violate Art. 29(1) of the Constitution – s.6A(3) cannot be held unconstitutional on the ground of temporal unreasonableness and s.6A(2) cannot be held unconstitutional for not prescribing a procedure for registration. [Para 125] – Held: (per Pardiwala, J.) (Dissenting): By applying the doctrine of temporal reasonableness, s.6A declared to be invalid with prospective effect – Immigrants migrated before 01.01.1966 and were granted deemed citizenship, and immigrants migrated between 01.01.1966 and 24.03.1971 and were granted citizenship to remain unaffected – Immigrants migrated between 01.01.1966 and 24.03.1971, and were detected as foreigners, and registered with authorities to be treated as Indian citizens after the expiry of 10 years after they were detected – Immigrants migrated between 01.01.1966 and 24.03.1971, who were detected as foreigners but did not register on time to lose eli
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