Guwahati: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre and Assam government to respond to pleas over identity cards for people listed in the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) published in 2019.
The case relates to the NRC published in August 2019 and was brought before a bench of Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, the All Assam Minority Students’ Union (AAMSU) and the Assam Sankhyalaghu Sangram Parishad are among the organisations that have filed petitions in the matter.
Appearing for the Jamiat, senior advocate Kapil Sibal told the court that although notices had been issued earlier, responses from the Centre and the Assam government were yet to be filed. He also requested permission to submit a rejoinder once the Registrar General of India provides its response.
The hearing also brought another NRC-related petition before the bench. Former NRC Coordinator Hitesh Dev Sarma has approached the court seeking another verification of the final register, citing alleged inaccuracies and asking that the NRC be re-certified.
Senior advocate Manish Goswami, appearing for Sarma, told the bench that his client’s plea involved issues different from those raised in the other petitions. He therefore requested that both sets of cases be heard together.
After hearing Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati for the Centre, the bench ordered that Sarma’s petition be tagged with the existing cases. The court said the matters would be heard together after receiving the replies from the Centre and the Assam government.
The petitioners have also questioned the delay in completing several requirements linked to the 2019 NRC. They said identity cards are yet to be issued to more than 3.11 crore people whose names figure in the final register.
Another concern relates to around 19 lakh people who were left out of the NRC and have not received rejection slips. The petitioners said these documents are necessary for those excluded from the register to pursue the appeal process.
The petitioners said the remaining formalities have prevented the NRC process from being completed. They also raised questions about procedural safeguards, equal treatment and constitutional protections.
Further hearings will follow after the Centre and Assam government file their replies.