IN RE SECTION 6A OF THE CITIZENSHIP ACT 1955 vs <font color='red'>UNION OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS SECRETARY</font> — W.P.(C) No. 274/2009

Case under 48P-others Section PIL-W. Status: Disposed.

Disposed

CNR: SCIN010161132009

Filing Date

25-May-2009

Registration No

W.P.(C) No. 274/2009

Diary Number

16113/2009

Order Date

17-Oct-2024

Document Type

Judgement - of Main Case

Neutral Citation

2019 INSC 891, 2024 INSC 789

Disposal Type

Disposed Off

Last updated 04-Jul-2026

Acts & Sections

48P-Others Section PIL-W

Petitioner(s)

  1. 1.IN RE SECTION 6A OF THE CITIZENSHIP ACT 1955

    Adv. MUKUL KUMAR[P-1]

Respondent(s)

  1. 1.UNION OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS SECRETARY

    Adv. GAURAV DHINGRA[IMPL] B. KRISHNA PRASAD[IMPL]

Case History

  1. Case disposedDisposed

  2. 17-Oct-2024

    Judgement - of Main CaseView PDF

  3. 17-Oct-2024

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  4. 17-Oct-2024

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice, Hon'ble Mr. Justice Surya Kant, Hon'ble Mr. Justice M.M. Sundresh, Hon'ble Mr. Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Manoj Misra

  5. 12-Dec-2023

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  6. 12-Dec-2023

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice, Hon'ble Mr. Justice Surya Kant, Hon'ble Mr. Justice M.M. Sundresh, Hon'ble Mr. Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Manoj Misra

  7. 07-Dec-2023

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  8. 07-Dec-2023

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice, Hon'ble Mr. Justice Surya Kant, Hon'ble Mr. Justice M.M. Sundresh, Hon'ble Mr. Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Manoj Misra

  9. 06-Dec-2023

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  10. 06-Dec-2023

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice, Hon'ble Mr. Justice Surya Kant, Hon'ble Mr. Justice M.M. Sundresh, Hon'ble Mr. Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Manoj Misra

  11. 05-Dec-2023

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  12. 05-Dec-2023

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice, Hon'ble Mr. Justice Surya Kant, Hon'ble Mr. Justice M.M. Sundresh, Hon'ble Mr. Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Manoj Misra

  13. 07-Nov-2023

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice, Hon'ble Mr. Justice A.S. Bopanna, Hon'ble Mr. Justice M.M. Sundresh, Hon'ble Mr. Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Manoj Misra

  14. 06-Nov-2023

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  15. 20-Sep-2023

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  16. 20-Sep-2023

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice, Hon'ble Mr. Justice A.S. Bopanna, Hon'ble Mr. Justice M.M. Sundresh, Hon'ble Mr. Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Manoj Misra

  17. 16-Feb-2023

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice, Hon'ble Mr. Justice M.R. Shah, Hon'ble Mr. Justice Krishna Murari, Hon'ble Ms. Justice Hima Kohli and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha

  18. 15-Feb-2023

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice, Hon'ble Mr. Justice M.R. Shah, Hon'ble Mr. Justice Krishna Murari, Hon'ble Ms. Justice Hima Kohli and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha

  19. 14-Feb-2023

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice, Hon'ble Mr. Justice M.R. Shah, Hon'ble Mr. Justice Krishna Murari, Hon'ble Ms. Justice Hima Kohli and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha

  20. 10-Jan-2023

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  21. 10-Jan-2023

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice, Hon'ble Mr. Justice M.R. Shah, Hon'ble Mr. Justice Krishna Murari, Hon'ble Ms. Justice Hima Kohli and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha

  22. 13-Dec-2022

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  23. 13-Dec-2022

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice, Hon'ble Mr. Justice M.R. Shah, Hon'ble Mr. Justice Krishna Murari, Hon'ble Ms. Justice Hima Kohli and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha

  24. 01-Nov-2022

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  25. 01-Nov-2022

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble Mr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Hon'ble Mr. Justice M.R. Shah, Hon'ble Mr. Justice Krishna Murari, Hon'ble Ms. Justice Hima Kohli and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha

  26. 07-Sep-2022

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  27. 07-Sep-2022

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble Mr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Hon'ble Mr. Justice M.R. Shah, Hon'ble Mr. Justice Krishna Murari, Hon'ble Ms. Justice Hima Kohli and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha

  28. 06-Jan-2020

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  29. 06-Jan-2020

    Mention Memo

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice, Hon'ble Mr. Justice B.R. Gavai and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Surya Kant

  30. 16-Dec-2019

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  31. 26-Nov-2019

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice, Hon'ble Mr. Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Surya Kant

  32. 18-Oct-2019

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  33. 18-Oct-2019

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Hon'ble Mr. Justice S.A. Bobde and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  34. 13-Aug-2019

    Judgement - of Main CaseView PDF

  35. 13-Aug-2019

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  36. 13-Aug-2019

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  37. 13-Aug-2019

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  38. 13-Aug-2019

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  39. 08-Aug-2019

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  40. 08-Aug-2019

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  41. 23-Jul-2019

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  42. 23-Jul-2019

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  43. 19-Jul-2019

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  44. 19-Jul-2019

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  45. 30-May-2019

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  46. 30-May-2019

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Aniruddha Bose

  47. 28-May-2019

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  48. 08-May-2019

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  49. 08-May-2019

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  50. 22-Apr-2019

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  51. 22-Apr-2019

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Hon'ble Mr. Justice Deepak Gupta and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Sanjiv Khanna

  52. 10-Apr-2019

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  53. 10-Apr-2019

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  54. 13-Mar-2019

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  55. 13-Mar-2019

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  56. 05-Feb-2019

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  57. 05-Feb-2019

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  58. 24-Jan-2019

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  59. 24-Jan-2019

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  60. 12-Dec-2018

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  61. 10-Dec-2018

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  62. 07-Dec-2018

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  63. 01-Nov-2018

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  64. 01-Nov-2018

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  65. 23-Oct-2018

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  66. 23-Oct-2018

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  67. 19-Sep-2018

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  68. 19-Sep-2018

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  69. 05-Sep-2018

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  70. 05-Sep-2018

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  71. 28-Aug-2018

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  72. 28-Aug-2018

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  73. 16-Aug-2018

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  74. 16-Aug-2018

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  75. 07-Aug-2018

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  76. 31-Jul-2018

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  77. 31-Jul-2018

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  78. 02-Jul-2018

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  79. 02-Jul-2018

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  80. 08-May-2018

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  81. 08-May-2018

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  82. 27-Mar-2018

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  83. 27-Mar-2018

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  84. 20-Feb-2018

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  85. 20-Feb-2018

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  86. 05-Feb-2018

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  87. 05-Feb-2018

    IA

    Hon'ble The Chief Justice, Hon'ble Mr. Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Hon'ble Mr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud

  88. 15-Dec-2017

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  89. 15-Dec-2017

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  90. 14-Dec-2017

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  91. 30-Nov-2017

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  92. 30-Nov-2017

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  93. 29-Nov-2017

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  94. 29-Nov-2017

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  95. 22-Nov-2017

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  96. 22-Nov-2017

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  97. 09-Nov-2017

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  98. 09-Nov-2017

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  99. 14-Sep-2017

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  100. 14-Sep-2017

    Ordinary

    Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  101. 12-Sep-2017

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  102. 31-Jul-2017

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  103. 21-Jul-2017

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  104. 21-Jul-2017

    Fixed Date by Court

    Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

  105. 13-Jul-2017

    First hearing

    Initial hearing scheduled

  106. 08-May-2017

    Office ReportView PDF

  107. 08-May-2017

    ROPView PDF

  108. 08-May-2017

    ROPView PDF

  109. 20-Apr-2017

    ROPView PDF

  110. 20-Apr-2017

    ROPView PDF

  111. 19-Apr-2017

    ROPView PDF

  112. 19-Apr-2017

    ROPView PDF

  113. 08-Mar-2017

    ROPView PDF

  114. 08-Mar-2017

    ROPView PDF

  115. 21-Feb-2017

    ROPView PDF

  116. 21-Feb-2017

    ROPView PDF

  117. 14-Feb-2017

    ROPView PDF

  118. 14-Feb-2017

    ROPView PDF

  119. 07-Feb-2017

    ROPView PDF

  120. 07-Feb-2017

    ROPView PDF

  121. 15-Dec-2016

    ROPView PDF

  122. 15-Dec-2016

    ROPView PDF

  123. 26-Oct-2016

    ROPView PDF

  124. 26-Oct-2016

    Office ReportView PDF

  125. 26-Oct-2016

    ROPView PDF

  126. 26-Oct-2016

    ROPView PDF

  127. 26-Oct-2016

    ROPView PDF

  128. 10-Mar-2016

    ROPView PDF

  129. 10-Mar-2016

    ROPView PDF

  130. 17-Feb-2016

    ROPView PDF

  131. 17-Feb-2016

    ROPView PDF

  132. 12-Feb-2016

    ROPView PDF

  133. 12-Feb-2016

    Office ReportView PDF

  134. 13-Jan-2016

    ROPView PDF

  135. 13-Jan-2016

    ROPView PDF

  136. 01-Dec-2015

    ROPView PDF

  137. 01-Dec-2015

    ROPView PDF

  138. 05-Nov-2015

    ROPView PDF

  139. 05-Nov-2015

    ROPView PDF

  140. 06-Oct-2015

    ROPView PDF

  141. 06-Oct-2015

    ROPView PDF

  142. 04-Sep-2015

    ROPView PDF

  143. 04-Sep-2015

    ROPView PDF

  144. 21-Jul-2015

    ROPView PDF

  145. 21-Jul-2015

    ROPView PDF

  146. 14-Jul-2015

    ROPView PDF

  147. 13-May-2015

    ROPView PDF

  148. 31-Mar-2015

    ROPView PDF

  149. 31-Mar-2015

    ROPView PDF

  150. 17-Dec-2014

    ROPView PDF

  151. 17-Dec-2014

    JudgmentView PDF

  152. 10-Nov-2014

    ROPView PDF

  153. 10-Nov-2014

    Office ReportView PDF

  154. 10-Nov-2014

    ROPView PDF

  155. 17-Oct-2014

    ROPView PDF

  156. 17-Oct-2014

    ROPView PDF

  157. 16-Oct-2014

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  158. 16-Oct-2014

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  159. 23-Sep-2014

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  160. 23-Sep-2014

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  161. 20-Aug-2014

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  162. 04-Aug-2014

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  163. 03-Feb-2014

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  164. 25-Oct-2013

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  165. 18-Oct-2013

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  166. 23-Aug-2013

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  167. 02-Aug-2013

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  168. 16-Jul-2013

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  169. 08-May-2013

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  170. 07-May-2013

    ROPView PDF

  171. 10-Apr-2013

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  172. 10-Apr-2013

    ROPView PDF

  173. 03-Apr-2013

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  174. 02-Apr-2013

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  175. 04-Mar-2013

    ROPView PDF

  176. 23-Feb-2011

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  177. 22-Nov-2010

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  178. 04-Oct-2010

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  179. 09-Feb-2010

    ROP - of Main CaseView PDF

  180. 25-May-2009

    Case filed

    Registration No. W.P.(C) No. 274/2009

  181. [ 2024 INSC 789 ]

    Judgement - of Main CaseView PDF

Common Record of Proceedings — heard with connected matters

Lead case: Diary 23396/2020

PDF 1PDF 2PDF 3
View Full Judgment
casestatus.in Summary

Case Summary: W.P.(C) No. 274/2009 - Section 6A of Citizenship Act 1955 Key Decision The Supreme Court issued a split judgment on the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act 1955, which grants citizenship to migrants of Indian origin from Bangladesh to Assam based on different cut-off dates (1966 and 1971). - Justice Surya Kant: Upheld Section 6A as constitutionally valid; rejected challenges under Articles 6, 7, 14, 21, 29, 326, and 355. - Justice Pardiwala: Declared Section 6A unconstitutional with prospective effect, finding it suffers from manifest arbitrariness and temporal unreasonableness due to: (a) absence of a temporal limit for its application, and (b) shifting the burden of detecting foreigners solely to the State. Critical Issue The core tension: while Section 6A addressed the partition-related migration crisis when enacted (1985), its open-ended mechanism—requiring state-initiated detection without time limits—became increasingly arbitrary over 39 years, incentivizing continued illegal immigration and vulnerable to document forgery rather than achieving timely detection and citizenship grant. This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.

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