NRC draft: Centre to help Assam to set up 1,000 tribunals

NEW DELHI: The Centre government is planning to help Assam in setting up 1,000 tribunals to deal with pleas of those who have been left out of the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

According to The Indian Express reports, the Centre will set up these tribunals after the government published the NRC on July 31.

Those among the 40 lakh excluded from NRC will move Foreigners Tribunals.

A meeting between B R Sharma, Secretary (Border Management) in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), was held recently to discuss Assam government’s proposal for creation of e-Foreigners Tribunals and creation of 1,000 additional Foreigners Tribunals.

The MHA decision comes after the top court had recently questioned the Assam government’s plan to set up 1,000 foreigners’ tribunals saying it would be difficult to find 1,000 legal personnel including judicial officer to preside over them.

The court also allowed the state government to involve retired bureaucrats of Additional Secretary or Secretary rank, with judicial work experience, for the 200 additional foreigners tribunals, which are supposed to be set up in addition to 100 that are already functioning.

Nearly 12,000 personnel including judicial officers were required for the tribunals and the state government, along with the home ministry and other agencies, have been tasked to identify them.

Some 37.59 lakh names of the 40.7 lakh were rejected while the remaining 2,48,077 were on hold.

The Supreme Court, which is monitoring the NRC update process, has made it clear that the final deadline for the publication of NRC is July 31 , 2019.

With agency inpits