Centre must have Aadhaar-like secrecy for NRC data, says Supreme Court

The classified data pertaining to Assam's revised National Register of Citizens (NRC) shall get a highly secured, multi-layered security apparatus akin to Aadhaar data which shall be put in place by the Centre before the final NRC list is put out on August 31.

This direction from the Supreme Court came on a report prepared by the Assam NRC Coordinator Pratik Hajela who apprehended possible leakage of the data after some portions of the list to be released on August 31 was revealed in the state assembly.

Dealing with the concern flagged by Hajela, a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice RF Nariman said, "We direct that an appropriate regime be enacted on lines similar to the security regime provided for Aadhaar data. Only thereafter, the list of inclusions and exclusions shall be made available to the State Government, Central Government and Registrar General of India."

As regards the publication date, the SC directed that the list be made available family-wise online and hard copies of the inclusion lists shall be published at the NRC Seva Centers, Circle Offices and Offices of the state's District Magistrates.

The bench made it clear that it will not reopen the exercise carried out under NRC after certain applications filed before it sought review of decisions taken by the NRC Coordinator in the light of provisions contained in the Citizenship Act. The applications claimed that since the definition of citizen under Section 6A and Section 3(1)(b) of Citizenship Act is pending consideration with a Constitution bench of the Supreme Court, the NRC must admit persons whose citizenship by descent should be accepted even where one of the parents from whom descent is traced is a person whose case is pending with foreigner tribunal.

The top court held that as and when decision of Constitution Bench comes, the NRC list shall be revised. But till then, it accepted the NRC Coordinator's decision to exclude any person whose parent (from whom eligibility is to be established) is a D Voter (DV), declared a foreigner (DF) or whose case is pending before Tribunal (PFT).

The only concession will be for those born before December 3, 2004. For such persons, if the parent through whom legacy is drawn is not DV, DF or PFT, then such descendants may be included in NRC. Again, those born after this date (December 3, 2004) they will not be included in NRC if any of the parents is DV, DF or PFT even if the parent from whom legacy is drawn is clear from all angles.