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SC questions second chance for those left out of NRC Assam
Why it is in news?
- The Supreme Court asked the Union government whether it is giving the over 40 lakh people excluded from the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, a “second chance” to gain citizenship by allowing them to produce fresh documents to prove their Indian legacy.
- The court was referring to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) proposed by the government, which allows a claimant for Indian citizenship to “change his legacy” by submitting additional documents at the ‘claims and objections’ stage.
- The court asked whether this would amount to “re-doing the claims” of those left out from the draft NRC published on July 30.
- A Bench of Justices said allowing a claimant to change his legacy would amount to “tinkering with the family tree” and re-doing the verification process.
'Why change tack?'
- Besides the Bench pointed out the government, in the beginning, had specified that documents on legacy would be allowed to be filed only once.
- Now, it has changed tack to permit additional documents to be filed.
- The court directed Assam State NRC Coordinator Prateek Hajela to file a report on the ramifications of the government's proposal to submit fresh documents.
- Meanwhile, the court deferred the receipt of claims and objections to a later date.
- This stage was supposed to start within the next days, on August 30, and would have continued till October 28.
- Allowing a person to suddenly pull out an additional document, that too at the 'claims and objections' stage, will upset the apple cart
- onsequences are so severe that should they be given one more chance.
- Suppose a claimant has misfired once but can deliver in the next. Why should such a person not be given another chance?
Sample re-verification
- The Supreme Court further asked to submit a report with a time-frame to carry out the sample re-verification of at least 10 per cent of the names included in the final draft NRC.
- This is after Co ordinator placed before the Bench a district-wise data of the percentage of the population who have been excluded from the final draft NRC.
Source
The Hindu