Supreme Court upholds granting citizenship to Bangladeshi refugees in Assam before 1971

The refugees from Bangladesh were granted citizenship under Section 6A of the Citizenship Act which was introduced in 1985.

The judgement has been passed by a five-judge constitutional bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud with 4:1 majority.

The bench said as quoted by NDTV, "The court's decision means that the non-resident Indians who came from Bangladesh between January 1, 1966 and March 25, 1971 are eligible for citizenship. Those who have got citizenship under this will retain their citizenship."

The order was passed hearing on a petition that claimed the demography of Assam was imbalanced due to the arrival of refugees from Bangladesh.

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud upheld the central government's act in granting citizenship to the refugees calling the move as a "political solution".

CJI Chandrachud said, "The central government could have extended the act to other areas as well, but it did not do so because it was unique to Assam. The number of migrants coming to Assam and their impact on culture etc. is higher in Assam.

"The impact of 40 lakh migrants in Assam is more than that of 57 lakh in West Bengal because the land area in Assam is less than that of West Bengal."

The Assam Accord, which was signed between the Centre and representatives of the Assam government, granted citizenship to the refugees from Bangladesh (then East Pakistan), who crossed over to India during the liberation war.

The refugees were granted citizenship but without voting rights. The cutoff date was March 25, 1971.