The Assam Accord of 1985, which froze the deadline for such entry of illegal immigrants into the state of Assam at March 25, 1971, is violated by the recent government order allowing religious minorities facing persecution in three neighbouring countries free passage to India until December 31, 2024. The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Center to respond.
Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) filed a petition challenging the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order 2025 issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on September 1st of this year.
The bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said, "You have raised an interesting point." The Citizenship Amendment Act, which states that persecuted minorities from certain nations who entered India prior to December 31, 2014, would be entitled for citizenship, is essentially extended by that order.
The AGP petition, which was filed by advocate Rahul Pratap and argued by senior advocate Jayant Bhushan, limited the challenge to its application to Assam and stated that those who enter after the deadline of March 25, 1971, which was set by the Assam Accord and given statutory backing by enacting section 6A of the Citizenship Act, have no legal protection and must be deported.
Bhushan went on to say that the matter becomes more pertinent since a five-judge panel of the highest court upheld the legality of section 6A on October 17, 2024.
Any attempt to extend the deadline for entry into any state in India, including Assam, would not only provide legal protection to illegal immigrants who have stayed after 1971, but it would also be a violation of the court's binding ruling. The five-judge Constitution court that affirmed section 6A by a 4:1 majority included CJI Kant.
Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh who entered India on or before December 31, 2024, because of religious persecution, are exempt from the September 1 decree, allowing them to reside and remain in the nation even in the absence of proper travel credentials.
The MHA, the Ministry of External Affairs, and the Assam government were notified of the plea by the court, which also ordered that it be included in a list of pending cases in which the Citizenship Amendment Act 2020 is already being contested.
