NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday told the Supreme Court in an affidavit that it would not be possible to provide accurate data on illegal migrants living in the country, as the five-judge Constitution bench led by the CJI reserved its verdict on a batch of pleas challenging the validity of section 6A of the Citizenship Act.
The measure was introduced to give effect to the Assam Accord. It provides the framework to recognise migrants in Assam as Indian citizens or to expel them based on the date of their migration. The provision provides that those who have come to Assam on or after January 1, 1966, but before March 25, 1971, from specified territories, including Bangladesh in 1985, and since then are residents of Assam, must register under section 18 for citizenship. Therefore, the provision fixes March 25, 1971, as the cut-off date for granting citizenship to Bangladeshi migrants in Assam
The bench, also comprising Justices Surya Kant, MM Sundresh, JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, reserved 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.
The government affidavit, a copy of which was accessed by this newspaper, expresses inability to collect the exact data on illegal migrants living in various parts of the country. “Illegal migrants enter the country without valid travel documents. The detection, detention and deportation of such illegally staying foreign nationals involve a complex ongoing process,” the affidavit said.
In the previous hearing on December 7, the SC asked the Centre as to what steps have been taken to curb illegal migration and directed it to furnish data on the number of immigrants conferred Indian citizenship through Section 6A(2) of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
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