The Supreme Court has said it will start hearing on December 5 the matter to examine the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act relating to illegal immigrants in Assam. The said Section was added as a special provision to deal with the citizenship of people covered by the Assam Accord, reported news agency PTI.
A five-judge Constitution bench was scheduled to hear the matter on Tuesday, but then discussed the availability of all the counsels. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta requested to defer the matter seeking more time citing Diwali festivities and other issues.
"I am mentioning on my behalf and on behalf of the Attorney General for India. The case coming up tomorrow is the Citizenship Amendment Act. If the case can be deferred a bit...This is the last working week before Diwali and we just came out of one Constitution bench and, therefore, we need some time," the SG said as quoted by PTI.
After hearing the submission, the CJI DY Chandrachud-led bench deferred the matter to December.
According to PTI, the Assam Accord provides that those who have come to Assam on or after January 1, 1966 but before March 25, 1971 from specified territories, including Bangladesh, as per the Citizenship Act amended in 1985, and since then are residents of Assam must register themselves under section 18 for citizenship.
Accordingly, the provision fixed March 25, 1971 as the cut-off date for granting citizenship to Bangladeshi migrants in Assam.
Jamia VC Akhtar Says Stood By Students Against Police Action During Anti-CAA Protests
The outgoing vice chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University, Najma Akhtar said on Wednesday that she stood with the students of the varsity during the Anti-CAA protests to ensure that the students get justice.
Professor Najma Akhtar, whose tenure as the Jamia VC ends next week, said in an interview to PTI, that she had written to the centre seeking its intervention into the matter. Najma said she also sought that police should not be allowed to enter the campus premises without the consent of the university administration.