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The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will begin hearings on October 17 to investigate the constitutional validity of Section 6A of Assam's Citizenship Act, which deals with illegal immigrants.
Section 6A of the Citizenship Act was inserted as a special provision dealing with the citizenship of persons covered by the Assam Treaty.
According to the provision, persons who entered Assam on or after 1 January 1966 but before 25 March 1971 from certain territories including Bangladesh under and after the Citizenship Amendment Act, 1985 are residents of Assam. They must register for citizenship in accordance with § 18.
Accordingly, the provision sets March 25, 1971, as the deadline for granting citizenship to Bangladeshi migrants in Assam. A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud noted that the nodal counsel had prepared a joint report on the matter. However, the joint meeting had to become more effective.
"A joint register will be prepared. A soft copy of the joint order will be prepared by October. Written submissions will be filed by October 10," said a bench of Justices AS Bopanna, MM Sundresh, JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. .