ABDUL KUDDUS vs UNION OF INDIA

The Supreme Court addressed the conflict between sub-paragraph (2) of paragraph 3 and paragraph 8 of the Schedule to the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003, and examined the possibility of creating an appellate forum for citizenship disputes under Article 142 of the Constitution. The Court emphasized that Articles 5 to 11 of the Constitution and the Citizenship Act, 1955, particularly Section 14A and Section 6A, govern the registration and citizenship status of individuals in Assam. The Court held that the existing legal framework is sufficient for determining citizenship issues, thus declining to create a new appellate forum.