Citizens can resubmit documents for NRC from September 25: Top court

Beginning September 25, persons whose names did not figure in the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Assam will get a fresh opportunity to prove their citizenship by producing any one of the 10 documents approved by the Court earlier this month. Out of 3.29 crore citizens who applied to be enrolled in NRC, a total of over 40.7 lakh persons got rejected. However, the court order does not consider the Centre and state request to include an additional five documents that could help to prevent genuine cases from being excluded from the NRC. Attorney General KK Venugopal pointed out that the Centre felt an additional five documents should be added to the list of accepted documents of proof of citizenship.

While the process of filing claims is expected to take at least 60 days, the apex bench directed the NRC Coordinator Prateek Hajela to report about the ground situation by October 23.

Meanwhile, the state government, through Additional Solicitor General (ASG) emphasized that while not a single illegal migrant should be included, a genuine citizen also should not be excluded. He said that in presenting the legacy document, the state will not allow a claimant to change his/her family tree.

But the bench shared its apprehension that the five documents on which both Centre and state were insisting upon could not be relied upon at the first round of presenting claims as they could be "manufactured."