Statelessness as an Academic Concern: The Indian Supreme Court’s Engagement with Citizenship Policy in In Re: Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955

In October 2024, the Supreme Court of India (‘Court’) made a significant ruling regarding citizenship laws in Assam, a state in the north-east of the country. The case In Re: Section 6Aof the Citizenship Act, 1955(‘In Re: s 6A’)centred on s 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955(‘Citizenship Act’), which pertains to granting citizenship to a specific class of migrants who entered Assam before ‘the 1stday of January, 1966’.The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of s 6A in a 4:1 majority. In doing so, the Court also engaged with a multitude of important issues for constitutional law and citizenship in the country. This included discussion of the capacity of the Indian Parliament (‘Parliament’) to legislate on citizenship, the constitutional values of fraternity, equality and the right to culture, and lastly but importantly, the role of the Court in engaging with matters of citizenship policy.