The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, in a 4:1 majority judgment, on Thursday upheld the validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act. However, in his dissent, Justice J.B. Pardiwala held that Section 6A is unconstitutional with prospective effect. The Act is related to the grant of Indian citizenship to illegal immigrants in Assam.
A five-judge Constitution Bench, headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, said the Assam Accord was a political solution to the problem of illegal migration.
Section 6A is a special provision inserted into the 1955 Act in furtherance of a Memorandum of Settlement called the ‘Assam Accord’ signed on August 15, 1985 by then Rajiv Gandhi government with the leaders of the Assam Movement to preserve and protect the Assamese culture, heritage, linguistic and social identity. The Accord came at the end of a six-year-long agitation by the All Assam Students Union (AASU) to identify and deport illegal immigrants, mostly from neighbouring Bangladesh, from the State.
CJI Chandrachud said, “Section 6A balances humanitarian need of migration with the economic effects of migration. It does not violate Section 6 of the Citizenship Act and confers citizenship only on a later date, between January 26, 1950 till January 1, 1961. The cut-off date of 1971 is reasonable. Section 6A is neither under inclusive nor over inclusive. The presence of different ethnic groups in a State does not violate cultural rights. Detection of foreigners is an elaborate process.”
Section 6A(3) is a long-time provision to deal with influx of migrants. J. Surya Kant, in the lead opinion, said, “6A is in the spirit of fraternity. People cannot choose their neighbours. That is the not idea of fraternity. The idea is to live and let live. People of different backgrounds should live in the spirit of inclusiveness and togetherness.” J. Kant said the cut-off dates in 6A are not manifestly arbitrary. He said, “The term ‘ordinary resident’ is not vague. The term is seen in many other laws, including the Representation of People Act.”
Justice Kant said the attack on Article 6A is misplaced and that the large influx is owing to lack of implementation of laws, adding the influx of migrants has not affected the right of the Assamese to vote.
“The restriction on citizenship for persons who have entered Indian territory post the 1971 cut-off date in Section 6A is not properly implemented,” Justice Kant observed.
In his dissent, Justice J. Pardiwala said Section 6A may have been valid at the time of its inception, but has become unconstitutional temporally. Under Section 6A, foreigners who had entered Assam before January 1, 1966, and been “ordinarily resident” in the State, would have all the rights and obligations of Indian citizens. Those who had entered the State between January 1, 1966 and March 25, 1971 would have the same rights and obligations except that they would not be able to vote for 10 years.
Section 6A was a mixture of State taking a humanitarian approach to immigration from Bangladesh and quelling the apprehensions of Assamese leaders that large scale influx would affect the Assamese economy and culture. The 1966-1971 bracket and restriction in voting for 10 years were included to appease Assamese leaders that immigration influx would not affect electoral politics. Section 6A was a statutory avtar of the Assam Accord.
“On suspicion that a person is a foreigner, the onus is on the person who came between 1966-71 to prove he is a citizen,” J. Pardiwala said.
Justice Pardiwala further said, “The underlying object of creating two distinct categories of immigrants under Section 6A could have been achieved only if the exercise of detection of immigrants of the 1966-71 stream and their deletion from the electoral roll was conducted in an en masse and time bound manner. This was not done as intended, and there is no relevance now in the classification between pre-1966 and 1966-71 stream of immigrants. To allow 6A to continue for all time to come would amount to taking a redactive view of historical circumstance which brought the provision into existence.”
Justice Pardiwala concluded that Section 6A has become manifestly arbitrary and thus unconstitutional with the efflux of time. He said, “Section 6A fails to bring temporal limit to its applicability. It shifts the sole burden of proving a person an illegal immigrant or foreigner on the State, thus counter-serving the very purpose for which the provision was enacted. The purpose of 6A was not achieved, that is, expedient detection of those who entered in the 1966-71 period, their deletion from the electoral rolls and conferment of de jure citizenship only on the expiry of 10 years.”
“Even J. Kant, who wrote the majority opinion, agrees that hordes of immigrants have illegally crossed over to Assam and are residing there. But still J. Kant says such illegal immigration cannot be blamed on 6A,” Justice Pardiwala said. “But the fact is that the absence of temporal limits in 6A has led to influx. Section 6A does not align with Section 6 of the Citizenship Act,” Justice Pardiwala said.
“Under Section 6, a person who migrated from Pakistan had to apply for citizenship. The onus was on the immigrant. There was also a cut-off year of 1952,” Justice Pardiwala said.
Bihar hooch tragedy: Toll touches 25, several hospitalised, lose eyesight
The death toll in the Bihar hooch case touched 25 on Thursday with several people hospitalised and some among them losing their eyesight. The incident occurred in the Siwan and Saran districts of the State on Wednesday (October 16, 2024).
Director General of Police Alok Raj told news agency PTI that 20 people died in Siwan and five in Saran. He said 12 people have been arrested for allegedly selling spurious liquor and they were likely to be “tried under the most stringent laws and punished by the court”.
“Two Special Investigating Teams (SIT) have also been set up in the aftermath of the incident. The one set up at the local level will be looking into the criminality involved in the latest episode. Another SIT has been set up by the Department of Prohibition in Patna which will carry out a comprehensive study of all such incidents that have taken place in the recent past, based upon which a plan of action will be drawn out,” he said.
Bahraich violence: 5 suspects held after encounter with U.P. police; 2 suffer gunshot injuries
Five suspects in the killing of a man that triggered violence in Bahraich were arrested in the U.P. town on Thursday after an encounter with the Uttar Pradesh Police in which two of them suffered gunshot injuries, a senior official said.
The accused were allegedly trying to flee to Nepal, which shares a border with Bahraich district in Uttar Pradesh, the officer said. “Five accused have been arrested,” Additional Director-General of Police (Law and Order) Amitabh Yash told a news channel.
On the encounter, he said, “I have information of exchange of fire and gunshot injuries.” Yash, who is also the chief of the Special Task Force of the Uttar Pradesh Police, said the Bahraich Police, investigating the murder and subsequent violence, has already established the link of one of the accused in Nepal. The condition of the duo is stated to be stable.
Director-General of Police Prashant Kumar said those arrested have been identified as Mohammad Faheen, Mohammad Sarfaraz and Abdul Hameed, who are named accused in the FIR — and two others Mohammad Taleem alias Sabloo and Mohammad Afzal.
According to Kumar, a police team arrested Faheen and Taleem. Acting on the information given by the duo, the team went to recover the weapon used in the murder in the Nanpara area of the district, however, it came under fire from Hameed, Sarfaraz and Afzal. In retaliatory firing, Sarfaraz and Taleem were seriously injured.
“They are being treated. The weapon used in the murder has been recovered,” the U.P. Police chief said in a statement.
A doctor at a local health care centre said, “Two people were brought here around 2.35 p.m. One of them was named Sarfaraz and the other Taleem. One of them had injuries on his left leg and the other on his right leg.” “The bullets are still inside their bodies. I have referred them to the district hospital in Bahraich for X-ray and further management. Both are in normal condition,” he told reporters.
Violence broke out at Maharajganj in the Mahsi tehsil of Bahraich district on Sunday allegedly over loud music being played outside a place of worship during a Durga Puja immersion procession.
A local resident, Ram Gopal Mishra, 22, part of the passing group, died of gunshot wounds in the ensuing violence, triggering vandalism and arson in the area with mobs torching several houses, shops, showrooms, hospitals and vehicles.
Meanwhile, Rukhsar, the daughter of accused, Hameed, the landlord accused of firing at Mishra, said, “At around 4 p.m. yesterday, my father and two brothers, Sarfaraz and Faheem, and another youth were picked up by the U.P. STF.
“My husband and brother-in-law have already been picked up. There is no news of them. We fear that they may have been killed in an encounter,” she claimed in a video.
Shortly after the encounter, the Samajwadi Party took to social media citing “rampant crimes” in the State and questioned if “riots and encounters” were being staged to divert people’s attention from law and order issues.
“Crimes are rampant in the BJP-Yogi government, jewelery of women, sisters and daughters is being stolen and snatched. Are riots being instigated to divert public attention from these crimes and are encounters being carried out to hush the matter?” the SP’s media cell posted on X.
CJI Chandrachud names Justice Sanjiv Khanna as successor
Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud has recommended Justice Sanjiv Khanna to the government for appointment as the 51st Chief Justice of India.
Chief Justice Chandrachud is scheduled to retire on November 10. Under the Memorandum of Procedure for appointment of Chief Justice of India and Supreme Court Judges, the Law Ministry seeks the recommendation of the outgoing Chief Justice about the next appointment. The letter from the government kick-starts the appointment process for the next Chief Justice of India.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna is the next in line to be Chief Justice of India in accordance with the seniority norm.
Born on May 14, 1960, Justice Khanna enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi in 1983.
He Initially practiced in the district courts and later in the High Court of Delhi in various fields of law, including constitutional law, direct taxation, arbitration, commercial law, company law, land law, environmental law and medical negligence.
Justice Khanna was a senior standing Counsel for the Income Tax Department. He had also functioned as a standing counsel for the National Capital Territory of Delhi and appeared as Additional Public Prosecutor and amicus curiae in the High Court.
He was elevated as an Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court in 2005 and made a Permanent Judge in 2006. He was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court on January 18, 2019. Justice Khanna was ranked 33 in the combined seniority of High Court Judges on all-India basis, but the then Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had recommended him over others on grounds of merit and integrity.
Justice Khanna had led the Supreme Court which gave interim bail to former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to campaign in the Lok Sabha elections of 2024. He was also a member of the Constitution Bench which upheld the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir. Justice Khanna is due to retire on May 13, 2025.
In Brief:
Nayab Saini takes oath as Haryana CM
Bharatiya Janata Party’s Nayab Singh Saini took oath as the new Chief Minister of Haryana for the second term, days after the BJP successfully retained power in the recently held Assembly election. In the new Cabinet, thirteen legislators have been inducted, including two women. Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya administered the oath of office and secrecy at the swearing-in-ceremony held in Haryana’s Panchkula.
Advance railway reservation period reduced to 60 days
The Railway Board has reduced the time limit for advance booking of trains from 120 days to 60 days. The new time limit would take effect from November 1. A senior official of the Southern Railway, confirming the reduction of the advance reservation period (ARP) for long-distance trains from 120 days to 60 days, said a circular has been issued by the Railway Board to all the Principal Chief Commercial Managers of all the Zonal Railways in this regard. Cancellations made beyond the ARP of 60 days would be permitted, the circular further stated. The railway official also said that the new time limit would not be applicable to a few express trains, including Taj Express and Gomti Express, which have a shorter time limit for advance reservations.
Direct tax collections jump 182% in 10 years
Direct tax collections have surged 182% to more than ₹19.60 lakh crore in 2023-24 in the 10-year period of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government. The latest ‘Time Series Data’ released by the Income Tax Department showed that the corporate tax collections more than doubled to more than ₹9.11 lakh crore in 10 years to 2023-24 fiscal. Personal income tax mop up grew close to four-fold to ₹10.45 lakh crore during the period. In the first year of the Modi government in 2014-15, direct tax collection was about ₹6.96 lakh crore. This included about ₹4.29 lakh crore of corporate tax and ₹2.66 lakh crore of personal income tax.
Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.
Published - October 17, 2024 09:19 pm IST
