What are the Constitution Bench verdicts expected in the second half of 2024? | Explained Premium

Supreme Court to decide on crucial cases including citizenship, minority status, reservation, property rights, and recruitment rules.

The Supreme Court of India reopened on July 8 after a month-and-a-half-long summer recess, and several crucial judgments and hearings are in the pipeline. This is especially significant since Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud is due to retire in November this year. Judgments in several cases of constitutional importance — many over two decades old — are expected to be pronounced before this time.

Here’s a look at some of the most significant CJI-led Constitution Bench cases pending before the Court.

Also Read: Year in Review | Key Supreme Court judgments in 2023

What is the case?

The case pertains to a challenge of the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, inserted in furtherance of the Assam Accord signed between the Indian government and the representatives of the Assam Movement following the Indo-Pakistan War in 1971. Section 6A outlines a framework for recognising migrants in Assam as Indian citizens or expelling them based on the date of their migration.

Section 6A stipulates that people who came to Assam on or after January 1, 1966, but before March 25, 1971, from Bangladesh at the time of commencement of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1985 and are resident in Assam will be able to register themselves as citizens of India. In November 2012, the Assam Sanmilita Mahasangha, a Guwahati-based civil society organisation, filed a petition challenging Section 6A on the ground that it discriminates against other Indian citizens by permitting different cut-off dates for regularising illegal migrants entering Assam and the rest of the country. It also sought the Court’s intervention in directing the concerned authority to update the National Register for Citizens (NRC) for Assam by taking into account the details available post the 1951 National Census instead of the electoral rolls prior to March 24, 1971.

Live-updates from Supreme Court hearing on Section 6A of the Citizenship Act | Day 1 | Day 2| Day 3| Day 4