Publish first NRC draft for Assam by December 31: SC

Publish first NRC draft for Assam by December 31: SC

What has happened?

The Supreme Court is standing firm by its order directing the government and the authorities to publish the first draft of National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Assam by December 31, 2017

Backdrop

The Supreme Court is hearing a writ petition filed by Assam Public Works (APW) in July 2009 for identification of Bangladeshi foreigners in the State and deletion of their names from the voters’ list 

What was the Bench’s decision?

• A Bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Rohinton Nariman shot down fears expressed by the Centre that a volatile situation may arise if the draft NRC was published on or before December 31
• The first draft is to be published after scrutinising the claims of citizenship of 2.38 Crore persons in the north-eastern State

Centre’s reservations

Attorney-General K.K. Venugopal expressed reservations about publishing the draft NRC when lakhs of claims for citizen registration were still under scrutiny. At a hearing on December 15, the top law officer said there could be a law and order situation in the State

Claims under scrutiny

The Registrar General of Citizens Registration of India had informed the Supreme Court that 38 lakh people were under scrutiny in the State after their documents appeared doubtful. The parental linkage of another 47 lakh people were in doubt after the authorities matched their family trees. Finally, the cases of 29 lakh married women who had submitted certificates from the gram panchayat secretaries concerned were also under scrutiny