On Wednesday, the Supreme Court asked the Centre to respond to a petition against a rule allowing persecuted religious minorities from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh to stay in Assam without passports or valid papers if they arrived before December 31, 2024. The petition was filed by the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), represented by senior advocate Jayant Bhushan and Rahul Pratap. They challenged Clause 3(l)(e) of the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order 2025, calling it unconstitutional and violating the Assam Accord. The Assam Accord was designed to stop the entry of foreigners into Assam after March 25, 1971. It specifically aimed to protect Assamese culture and people and was backed by Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, which bars citizenship for immigrants coming after that date. The AGP argued, “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 also said that Clause 3(l)(e) has made the March 1971 cut-off meaningless. It said the clause legalises illegal immigration after that date and violates Section 6A, which was upheld by the Supreme Court in October last year. The petition also challenged Section 33 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, which gives the Centre broad powers to let illegal immigrants stay indefinitely. AGP called Section 33 discriminatory and against the Citizenship Act of 1955. The Supreme Court Bench, headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, formally issued notice to the government on this plea.