POBNEWS24, Dhaka Oct 13, 2024 : The Supreme Court of India has upheld the citizenship of Bangladeshis who entered the country between 1966 and 1971 by upholding the constitutionality of Section 6A of the Indian Citizenship Act. A five-judge special bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud was hearing the case. The Supreme Court gave this verdict after a long hearing on Thursday (October 17).
According to the verdict, Bangladeshis who entered India between 1966 and 1971 will retain their citizenship. News from NDTV. According to NDTV’s report, the Supreme Court gave this judgment in favor of Section 6 A of the Assam Accord’s ‘Citizenship Act-1985’ on Thursday.
In Assam in 1985, the ‘Citizenship Act’ was passed giving citizenship to the Bangladeshi refugees who had taken shelter from 1996-1971. Recently Section 6A of the Indian Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was challenged in the High Court. The Supreme Court gave this order in the judgment of that challenge.
The verdict was delivered by a five-member bench of the Supreme Court of India headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud. The other members of the bench are Justice JB Pardiwala, Justice Surya Kant, Justice MN Sundaresh and Justice Manoj Mishra. All four members of the bench ruled in favor of upholding the law. Only Justice Pardiwala opposed.
The court’s verdict said, “The decision of the court means that non-resident Indians who came from Bangladesh from January 1, 1966 to March 25, 1971 are eligible for citizenship.” Those who have acquired citizenship under it shall retain their citizenship.
The court ruled in response to a petition filed stating that the influx of Bangladeshi refugees has affected Assam’s population balance and violated Section 6A—political and cultural rights of the original inhabitants of the state—of the Citizenship Act.
Chief Justice Chandrachud said the enactment of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act was essentially a “political solution” to the “unique problem” Assam faced.
Because, the influx of refugees threatened the cultural and demographic balance of Assam.
In the verdict, the Chief Justice also said that the central government could have applied this law to other regions as well. But it was not done as a ‘unique’ case in Assam. The number of immigrants and their impact on culture etc. is more in case of Assam. Besides, the impact of 4 million migrants in Assam is greater than the impact of 5.7 million in West Bengal. Because the amount of land in Assam is less than that of West Bengal.
