Look for 40lakh individuals greater good while finalizing NRC, SC advices Centre, Assam

New Delhi: Over 40 lakh and more individuals were excluded from NRC final draft creating havoc among people, following which filling of applications for claims and objections for inclusion and exclusion in the draft list had begun on September 25 and continued for a period of 60 days.

The Apex court on Tuesday has advised the BJP ruled government at Centre and Assam to finalize the NRC keeping in view of the greater common good of people rather than deciding individually, TOI reports.

It also sought responses from the government, stakeholders on state coordinator Prateek Hajela’s insistence to bar using of five documents for filing claims and objections for inclusion and exclusion of names in the final draft National Register of Citizens.

Citizenship certificate, electoral roll, refugee certificate, and ration card, all issued before March 24, 1971 were the valid documents required for filing pleas for the inclusion of names.

The top court has also put in a caveat that family lineage or family tree could not be changed under any circumstances.

The bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice R F Nariman sought responses of the Centre, Assam state and eight stakeholders — All Assam Students Union, All Assam Minorities Students’ Union, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, Assam Public Works (petitioner), Assam Sanmilita Mahasangha, National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Progressive), Indigenous Tribal Peoples Federation and Joint Action Committee for Bengali Refugees on the coordinator’s report and posted the case for 1 November.