Assam NRC: Follow Due Procedure on Claims for Inclusion in Final List, Says SC

The Supreme Court on Thursday urged the state of Assam to follow due procedure in the adjudication of claims for inclusion in the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) and not skim through the process to meet the court-set July 31 deadline.

The vacation bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, in addressing State Coordinator Prateek Hajela, observed: There are reports in the media that suggest that the objections (to the exclusion) are not being heard properly. The media is not wrong every time; it can also be correct at times. (The claimants) must be given a fair opportunity. The exercise must not be cut short and rushed because July 31 is the last date for the publication of the final NRC."

The top court's remarks come close on the heels of the widely-reported arrest and lodging in a detention centre for foreigners of a retired soldier, a Kargil war veteran, after a Foreigners Tribunal declared him, who had rendered three decades of his life to the Indian Army, an illegal immigrant.

Earlier this month, the apex court had reiterated that the final NRC for the state of Assam be readied by July 31, regardless of the failure to pursue their claims by those who have filed objections to their names not having been included in the draft NRC published in July last year.

Hajela submitted before a bench of Chief Justice Gogoi and Justice Rohinton Nariman that while the adjudication of the objections against exclusion from the NRC has already commenced, the claimants have failed to appear in most cases.

Observing that the law shall take its course in respect of those who do not show up in support of their claim to the NRC, the bench noted that fair discretion in accordance with the law may be applied in determining the fate of those conspicuous by their absence. Be brave and follow the law.

The NRC must come by July 31, maybe a day sooner but not even one day after, remarked the bench. The State Coordinator was also granted liberty to make a mention before the Registrar for an urgent hearing during the summer vacations should the need arise.