NRC List: Supreme Court Asks Coordinator Prateek Hajela to Submit Data of Those Excluded From Draft

It also directed Hajela to make available the copies of draft NRC to general public of the state.

New Delhi, August 16: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked Assam’s National Register of Citizens (NRC) Coordinator Prateek Hajela to provide a detailed report of district-wise percentage of population excluded from the NRC draft that was released on July 30 in the state. Headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi, a two-judge bench of the Apex Court sought the response of all the stakeholders including All Assam Students Union, All Assam Minority Students Union on the Centre’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in this regard.

It also directed Hajela to make available the copies of draft NRC to general public of the state. The Top Court further told that claims and objections in connection with the Assam NRC issue will be accepted from August 30. The court will hear the matter next on August 28.

Earlier on August 7, the Supreme Court held Hajela and Registrar General of India guilty of contempt of court, reprimanding them for making statements to media on the NRC Assam modalities when nothing had been informed to the court.

Second draft NRC list was published on July 30 in which out of 3.29 crore people, names of 2.89 crore have been included in the draft NRC. Names of 40,70,707 people do not figure in the list. Of these, 37,59,630 names have been rejected and the remaining 2,48,077 are on hold.

The first draft of the NRC for Assam was published on the intervening night of December 31 and January 1 according to the top court’s direction. Names of 1.9 crore people out of the 3.29 crore applicants were incorporated. Assam, which had faced influx of people from Bangladesh since the early 20th century, is the only state having an NRC, which was first prepared in 1951.

(With inputs from agencies)