Supreme Court Upholds Key Section Of Citizenship Act That Recognises Assam Accord

The Supreme Court has upheld the validity of a key citizenship rule that allows Bangladeshi immigrants who came to Assam to register themselves as Indian citizens.

A five-judge constitutional bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud upheld the rule by a 4:1 majority. Justice JB Pardiwala dissented while the rest - including Justices Surya Kant, MM Sundresh and Manoj Misra - were in support.

The order came on a petition that contended that the arrival of refugees from Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) had impacted the demographic balance of Assam. It said Section 6A of the Citizenship Act violated the political and cultural rights of the original residents of the state.