SC directs Centre, Assam govt to update NRC to detect illegal foreigners by March 1

Amid a crossfire of views on the updating of the National Register of Citizen (NRC) in the Indian state of Assam, the country’s Supreme Court has set March 1 as the deadline for the completion of the process.

The apex court on Tuesday directed the Centre and the Assam government to appear before it on Nov 5 for a clear picture on the status of the draft and final NRC.

It also took note of a report submitted by a one-man committee, headed by Upamanyu Hazarika, on the Indo-Bangla border and sought a detailed submission by Nov 5.

The two-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justic Ranjan Gogoi and Justice N Fali Nariman, asked Hazarika and government coordinator for the NRC, Prateek Hazela, to file a detailed document.

Hazela will have to report on the verification process of application forms, aims and objectives, field verification, NRC Kendras, and field workers on the next date of hearing.

On Tuesday, he sought more time to prepare the draft NRC and its final version.

Earlier, the court had set Oct 31 as the date for getting the draft NRC ready and Jan 2, 2016 for the final report.

The petitioner in the case, Assam Public Works (an Assam based NGO), filed an additional affidavit on Tuesday on the modalities of the verification process.

“We have filled the affidavit in which we have shown that Assam is facing external aggression and internal disturbance on account of a large-scale illegal migration of Bangladeshi nationals,” APW President Abhijeet Sharma told bdnews24.com.

In the affidavit, the petitioner has said that Assam’s 2006 voters’ list was saddled with about 4.14 million ‘excess’ voters over and above the increase in the number of legitimate ones. 
Sharma said in the affidavit that the NCR applications be scrutinised “most stringently”, for it was of “vital national interest” and crucial to the “survival of the state of Assam”.

He also suggested a modality for such scrutiny for the court’s “perusal” and “acceptance”.

Meanwhile, the All Assam Students Union (AASU) welcomed SC directives.

“It appears that the apex court is really determined to solve the NRC and border problem,” said AASU General Secretary Lurin Jyoti Gogoi.

The AASU, in the late 1970s, had spearheaded an anti-foreigner movement, compelling the central and state governments to sign the historic Assam Accord in 1985.

The accord provides for the detection and deportation the foreigners from Assam.

The upgraded NRC is expected to help detect illegal immigrants, allegedly coming from Bangladesh.