Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955
Legal Basis for the Assam NRC
Section 6A was inserted into the Citizenship Act, 1955 to give legal effect to the Assam Accord of 1985, creating a special citizenship framework applicable only to Assam. It classifies persons of Indian origin who entered Assam from Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) based on specific cut-off dates, determining who is deemed a citizen and who must be detected and, where applicable, subject to further legal process.
- Persons who entered Assam before 1 January 1966: deemed citizens
- Persons who entered between 1 January 1966 and 24 March 1971: could register as citizens after a specified process, with some rights (e.g., voting) initially restricted for a period
- Persons who entered on or after 25 March 1971: treated as illegal migrants, liable for detection and action under the Foreigners Act, 1946
- The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A in In Re: Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955 (2024)
● Tracked since March 06, 2026 · last seen August 10, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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