With reference to the Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, consider the following statements:
1. It granted citizenship rights except the right to vote to foreigners who had entered Assam before January 1, 1966.
2. Those immigrants who had entered between January 1, 1966, and March 25, 1971 in Assam, remained classified as foreigners for the initial 10 years.
3. Recently, the Supreme Court of India has declared Section 6A of the Act unconstitutional.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) None

Question

With reference to the Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, consider the following statements:
1. It granted citizenship rights except the right to vote to foreigners who had entered Assam before January 1, 1966.
2. Those immigrants who had entered between January 1, 1966, and March 25, 1971 in Assam, remained classified as foreigners for the initial 10 years.
3. Recently, the Supreme Court of India has declared Section 6A of the Act unconstitutional.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) None

ONLiNE UPSC · Accepted Answer

Context: Recently, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, which permits immigrants from Bangladesh residing in Assam to secure Indian citizenship, as a valid piece of legislation aligned to the Preambular value of fraternity.

Statement 1 is not correct: Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, was introduced following the Assam Accord (1985). According to the provision, "Foreigners who had entered Assam before January 1, 1966 and were &lsquo;ordinarily residents&rsquo; of the state would have all the rights of a citizen&rdquo;.

Statement 2 is not correct: Under Section 6A, those who had entered between January 1, 1966, and March 25, 1971, were not classified as foreigners; rather, they were granted citizenship immediately, with a temporary restriction on their voting rights for the initial 10-year period.

Statement 3 is not correct: The Supreme Court recently declared Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955 &mdash; granting citizenship to immigrants who entered Assam before January 1, 1966 &mdash; as constitutional. The SC upheld the validity of Section 6A and affirmed the power of Parliament to enact such a provision. The judgment also stated that Section 6A does not violate Article 29 or contradict any part of the Citizenship Act.

Citizenship Act, 1955

Section 6A and its provisions

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M Question 1	⏱ 0
With reference to the Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, consider the following statements: 1. It granted citizenship rights except the right to vote to foreigners who had entered Assam before January 1, 1966. 2. Those immigrants who had entered between January 1, 1966, and March 25, 1971 in Assam, remained classified as foreigners for the initial 10 years. 3. Recently, the Supreme Court of India has declared Section 6A of the Act unconstitutional. Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct? (a) 1 and 3 only (b) 1 and 2 only (c) 2 and 3 only (d) None

Citizenship Act, 1955

Section 6A and its provisions

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