Supreme Court to review clause in 2025 Order that contradicts Assam Accord

The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought the Centre’s response to a plea challenging the constitutionality of a provision that allows persecuted religious minorities from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, who entered India without a passport or valid documents before December 31, 2024, to stay on in Assam.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant issued formal notice to the Union government on the petition filed by the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), represented by senior advocate Jayant Bhushan and advocate Rahul Pratap, challenging Clause 3(l)(e) of the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order 2025 as violative of the Assam Accord.

The Accord, meant to halt the influx of aliens from Bangladesh, required foreigners who had entered Assam on or after March 25, 1971 to be identified and deported. The intent of the Assam Accord was made explicit through the insertion of Section 6A into the Citizenship Act 1955. Section 6A barred citizenship to immigrants who entered Assam after March 25, 1971.

“The rationale behind the Assam Accord was to preserve the demography and to promote the cultural, social and linguistic identities and heritage of Assamese people by constitutional and legislative safeguard. Any attempt to extend the cut-off date from March 24, 1971 to December 31, 2024 would be violative of the constitutional, legislative and statutory protection accorded to the people of Assam under the Assam Accord,” the AGP submitted.

The AGP argued that Clause 3(l)(e) of the 2025 Order has rendered the cut-off date in the Assam Accord otiose. It has indirectly legalised illegal immigration into Assam after March 1971. The clause has also violated Section 6A, which was upheld by a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in October last year.

The petition submitted that the clause ignored the point that Section 6A would override “all other provisions of law for the time being in force”.

It also challenged the constitutional validity of Section 33 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025. The AGP said Section 33 endowed the Centre with “unfettered and unbridled powers” to allow illegal immigrants to indefinitely stay on in India, especially in Assam.

The 2025 Order was issued by the government under Section 33. The AGP, a signatory to the Assam Accord, submitted that Section 33 was not only discriminatory but also in breach of the Citizenship Act of 1955.