Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Surya Kant (speaking for himself), Justice MM Sundresh, and Justice Manoj Misra upheld the constitutionality of Section 6A.
Previously, the bench observed that Section 6A was introduced as a humanitarian response to the aftermath of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, a key historical event.
The opposition Congress on Wednesday flayed the BJP-led Assam government, accusing Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of using the Assam Accord issue to distract the public from alleged corruption involving his family.
The Assam government, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, has announced its decision to implement the majority of recommendations from a committee report on Clause 6 of the Assam Accord.
The Union government asserted that the validity of a provision could not be assailed on the apprehension of the language, culture, and religious identities of Assamese people getting overshadowed by the presence of the immigrants from Bangladesh.
A five-judge constitution bench said that Section 6A was enacted as a humanitarian measure in the wake of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War and is deeply interwoven in our history.
The Act was enacted in pursuance to the 1985 Assam accord for granting citizenship to migrants from Bangladesh who had crossed over to India before March 25, 1971.
The Assam accord was signed between the central government, Assam government, All-Assam Students Union, and the All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad in New Delhi, on August 15, 1985. At that time, Rajiv Gandhi was India’s prime minister.
The apex court said the common compilation in the matter prepared by the nodal counsels needs to be streamlined.
Sec 6A was incorporated by an amendment in 1985 in pursuance to the Assam accord for granting citizenship to the migrants from Bangladeshi who had crossed over to India before the cut-off date of March 25, 1971.
