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Panchayat certificates not proof of citizenship: SC

Supreme Court says affected people should be given alternative options

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its order on a plea challenging a High Court order which said that a document issued by the Gram Panchayat could not be considered as proof of citizenship to get on the list of the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The top court is monitoring the mammoth exercise undertaken by Assam to update the NRC by December 31, 2017. However, Attorney General of India KK Venugopal suggested that the task was "herculean" and may not be complete by the suggested deadline.

Earlier this year in February, Gauhati High Court ruled that panchayat residency certificate has "no statutory sanctity". However, this order was challenged in the top court today.

Justice Ranjan Gogoi, who was hearing the matter then observed that this certificate was not meant for anything to but as a supporting document to the legacy document -- which basically links you to your ancestors.

The apex court bench questioned the correctness of the Gauhati HC to get into the larger issue at all. "When the HC had already upheld a tribunal order, what was the need to get into the larger issue? This order now has consequence on at least four million people."

Since this certificate was merely a supporting document, the apex court wondered what was the necessity for the HC to decide on this issue. The apex court opined that the HC order now puts the destiny and future of the affected people at stake.

"Nobody is claiming citizenship based on this document to get an entry on the NRC list. On its own, this document is neither here nor there. The admission of this document was meaningless. One's legacy, without this document still needs to be verified, the bench said.

Speaking to DNA, Badruddin Ajmal, Dhubri MP & president of All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) said "Just by the denial of this only one document, over 47 lakh people will suffer such grave injustice. Today the honourable Supreme Court has heard all of our demands and I am hopeful that there will be time given to the aggrieved people to find a solution to this."

He added that the delaying of the deadline (of the NRC) is completely political and it should not have been delayed."

"We applaud the Supreme Court for overseeing the procedure of the upgradation of the NRC, and we hope that it will continue to do so till it is upgraded. AASU and the people of Assam need an NRC that is bereft of the names of any undocumented Bangladeshi," said Samujjal Bhattacharjee, chief advisor, All Assam Student Union.

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