New Delhi, 10 January: A five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court will hear the petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act relating to illegal immigrants from Assam on February 14.
The court has given three weeks time to complete the case file. The Constitution Bench comprises Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice MR Shah, Justice Krishna Murari, Justice Hima Kohli and Justice PS Narasimha.
The petitions have challenged the amendment made in 1985 to take forward the Assam Accord. During the hearing on December 13, 2022, senior advocate Kapil Sibal told the court that the parties have decided to sit together and identify the issues which are to be set aside and the matter to be heard.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, on behalf of the Central Government, urged the court to direct the registry to make copies of all petitions available to all lawyers. During the hearing, a lawyer appearing for Arunachal Pradesh sought to be impleaded in the matter to argue the issue of citizenship of Chakma refugees.
