New Delhi, Oct 17 (PTI) While upholding the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud on Thursday held that mere presence of different ethnic groups in a state was not sufficient to infringe the rights guaranteed in the Constitution for the conservation of one’s culture.
The CJI referred to Article 29(1) of the Constitution which states, “Any section of citizens residing in the territory of India or any part thereof and having a distinct language, script, or culture of their own shall have the right to conserve the same.” Writing for himself, the CJI, who concurred with the majority judgment, rejected the claim of the petitioners that Section 6A was violative of Article 29 as it permitted migrants from Bangladesh having a distinct culture to be ordinarily residents in Assam and secure citizenship, which in turn infringed upon the right of those striving to conserve Assamese culture.
“The argument of the petitioners is that the culture of Assam is infringed upon by the large influx of Bangladeshi immigrants, who are conferred citizenship, and Section 6A, to the extent that it allows the influx is unconstitutional. I am unable to accept this argument. First, as a matter of constitutional principle, the mere presence of different ethnic groups in a state is not sufficient to infringe the right guaranteed by Article 29(1),” the CJI held.
CJI Chandrachud said various constitutional and legislative provisions protect Assamese cultural heritage.
“The cultural and linguistic interests of the citizens of Assam are protected by constitutional and statutory provisions. Thus, Section 6A of the Citizenship Act does not violate Article 29(1) of the Constitution,” he said.
The bench, also comprising Justices Surya Kant, M M Sundresh, J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, pronounced its order on 17 petitions questioning the constitutional validity of Section 6A, which was inserted into the Citizenship Act as a special provision to deal with the citizenship of people covered under the Assam Accord.
It says those who came to Assam on or after January 1, 1966, but before March 25, 1971, from specified territories, including Bangladesh, in accordance with the Citizenship Act amended in 1985, and since then are residents of the northeastern state, must register themselves under Section 18 for acquiring Indian citizenship.
As a result, the provision fixes March 25, 1971, as the cut-off date for granting citizenship to migrants, particularly those from Bangladesh, residing in Assam. PTI PKS SJK AMK PKS AMK AMK
