Parliament has the power under Article 11 of the Constitution to enact laws regarding citizenship, even if they appear to conflict with other provisions in Part II. Section 6A, while addressing a specific situation in Assam, does not violate fundamental rights or other constitutional provisions.

JUDGMENT

Dr Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, CJI

Table of Contents

A. Background ................................................................................................... 4

B. Issues ........................................................................................................... 10

C. Analysis .................................................................................................... 11

i. Legislative competence of Parliament to enact Section 6A ............... 11

a. The scope of the constitutional provisions on Indian citizenship ............ 12

b. Section 6A of the Citizenship Act 1955 does not conflict with Articles 6 and 7 of the Constitution ...................................................................................... 23

c. The scope of Article 11 of the Constitution ............................................. 26

ii. Section 6A is not violative of Article 14 of the Constitution ................ 34

a. The legal regime under the Citizenship Act 1955 governing migrants ... 35

b. The legal regime governing migrants from East and West Pakistan to Assam ........................................................................................................... 40
c. The scope of judicial review under Article 14 ......................................... 45

d. The scope of judicial review of under-inclusive provisions ..................... 48

e. The legislative objective of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act ................ 54

f. Section 6A is not violative of Article 14 ................................................... 56

iii. The challenge under Article 355............................................................. 60

iv. Section 6A does not violate Article 29(1) of the Constitution ............. 68

v. Section 6A (3) is constitutional ............................................................... 75

a. Section 6A (3) cannot be held unconstitutional even if foreigners cannot set the process in motion ................................

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b. Section 6A (3) is not unconstitutional on the ground of temporal unreasonableness ......................................................................................... 83

vi. Section 6A (2) cannot be held unconstitutional for not prescribing a procedure for registration ............................................................................. 90

D. Conclusion .................................................................................................. 91

1. Section 6A of the Citizenship Act 19551 confers citizenship on a specific class of migrants from Bangladesh to Assam. In Assam Sanmilita Mahasangha v. Union of India2, a two-Judge Bench referred the issue of the constitutional validity of Section 6A to a Constitution Bench. The petitioners have assailed the constitutional validity of Section 6A on the ground that it violates Articles 6,7,14, 29 and 355.

2. I have had the benefit of the opinions of my learned brothers, Justice Surya Kant and Justice J B Pardiwala. Having regard to the constitutional importance of the issues raised, I deem it necessary to author my own opinion.

A. Background

3. The judgment of Justice Surya Kant traces the background and the submissions of the counsel with sufficient clarity. To avoid prolixity, I will briefly advert to the background.

4. In 1985, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 1985 was enacted to include Section 6A to the Citizenship Act3. The provision grants citizenship to persons of

1 “Citizenship Act” 2 (2015) 3 SCC 1

3 “6A. Special provisions as to citizenship of persons covered by the Assam Accord.―

(1) For the purposes of this section―

(a) “Assam” means the territories included in the State of Assam immediately before the commencement of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1985 (65 of 1985);

(b) “detected to be a foreigner” means detected to be a foreigner in accordance with the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946 (31 of 1946) and the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964 by a Tribunal co