Govt granted citizenship to East Pak refugees to save lives, SC told

The Union government brought in a law to grant citizenship to migrants from East Pakistan, who entered Assam up to March 24, 1971, to protect the lives of the residents of state as well as that of the foreigners, solicitor general Tushar Mehta submitted in the Supreme Court, adding the 1985 law under the Citizenship Act contemplated a "compromise" based on a mix of political, extra-territorial and national security issues.

- Utkarsh Anand

In his written submissions before a five-judge constitution bench led by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, the officer maintained that the decision to give citizenship to migrants from East Pakistan, which was declared the independent nation of Bangladesh on March 24, 1971, envisioned tackling a "larger geopolitical problem and was part of the legislative policy of Parliament.