The Supreme Court on Thursday turned down Centre’s request to extend the December 31 deadline for publishing the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam. Snubbed by the court, the Centre went on the offensive telling the court that it had no business to pass such an order citing separation of powers. Unfazed, the court reiterated its order to publish the document by the year end and allowed the verification exercise to be completed at a later date.
The Centre had approached the SC with a list of 1.14 crore people against whom the verification exercise is expected to take time beyond December 31. Attorney General KK Venugopal said part-publication of NRC will result in a law and order situation that Assam has not witnessed in its history as those who have been excluded will take out agitations. Although the Centre has stationed 300 companies in addition to 100 companies to be sent around the deadline, Venugopal requested the SC to extend the deadline in order to avert any law and order situation.
The Bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and RF Nariman asked Venugopal whether such a request for postponement of NRC publication will be the last. The A-G did not give an assurance following which the court decided not to change its earlier order of July 13, 2017 fixing the deadline.
The court noted, “It is the sheer inaction on the part of the executive in dragging the matter for a period of over three years and the absence of any justifiable cause to hold back even a partial publication that has led the Court to direct publication of the draft NRC on or before December 31.”
Contrary to what the Centre claimed, State Coordinator of NRC Prateek Hajela claimed that with regard to two crore residents, the NRC can be published by December 31. The remaining concerns 38 lakh persons with doubts arising in respect of documents submitted, 47 lakh whose names have to be matched with their family tree, and 29 lakh whose certificates were issued by Gram Panchayat. The court directed NRC to complete verification of 38 lakh claims by December 31 and listed the matter for further hearing on February 20.
It was then the A-G attacked the SC for passing such an order being unmindful of the law and order problem on which State and Centre alone can take a final call. The court said such a situation may not arise as the verification with regard to the set of 47 lakh and 29 lakh would be covered by publication of another draft NRC at a subsequent point of time.