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NEW DELHI — The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on a clutch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
The petitions against Section 6A primarily challenge provisions of the Assam Accord which formed the basis of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, published in 2019.
Related story: Assam to hold instant hearing on National Register of Citizens claims
A Constitution Bench, headed by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising Justices Surya Kant, M.M. Sundresh, J.B. Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra, will deliver its judgment soon after it has reserved it after hearing oral arguments from both sides.
During the hearing, the top court had asked the Union government to inform it about the administrative steps taken to prevent the inflow of illegal immigrants into Indian territory in northeastern states, particularly from Assam.
It had called for a common affidavit from the Union and Assam governments about the number of Bangladeshi immigrants granted citizenship in Assam between January 1, 1966 and March 25, 1971 under section 6A (2)of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
In response, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that illegal immigrants entered into the country in a clandestine and surreptitious manner and therefore, it is not possible to collect accurate data of such people.
In September, the CJI-led five-judge Constitution Bench had passed procedural directions in the matter.
Earlier, the top court had observed that the primary question in the case was "whether Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955 suffers from any constitutional infirmity".
The amended Section 6A provided that "all persons of Indian origin who came before the 1st day of January, 1966 to Assam from the specified territory (including such of those whose names were included in the electoral rolls used for the purposes of the General Election to the House of the People held in 1967) and who have been ordinarily resident in Assam since the dates of their entry into Assam shall be deemed to be citizens of India as from the 1st day of January, 1966".
Also read: Assam NRC: SC defers hearing pleas against Section 6A of Citizenship Act till Dec 5