Constitutional validity of Section 6A of Citizenship Act intact, big decision of Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court with a majority has declared Section 6A of the Citizenship Act as constitutional. Four judges supported the decision, while Justice JB Pardiwala dissented. The Chief Justice said that it is the duty of the Central Government to protect the states from external threats. Treating duty as a right under Article 355 would give emergency powers to citizens and courts, which would be disastrous.
The existence of different ethnic groups in a state is not a violation of Article 29(1). The petitioner will have to prove that an ethnic group cannot protect its language and culture because another ethnic group also lives there. CJI Chandrachud said that if a condition has proper relation to the objective, it cannot be held to be temporarily unreasonable. Registration is not the only method of granting citizenship in India and Section 6A cannot be held unconstitutional merely because it does not provide for the process of registration. Therefore I also conclude that Section 6A is valid.

The Chief Justice said that it is the duty of the Central Government to protect the states from external aggression. Treating duty as a right under Article 355 would give emergency powers to citizens and courts, which would be disastrous. he/she further said that the existence of different ethnic groups in a state is not a violation of Article 29(1). The petitioner must prove that an ethnic group cannot protect its language and culture because another ethnic group also lives there.