Delhi/Guwahati: The Supreme Court on Monday extended the deadline for publication of the final draft of National Register of Citizens till July 30 and ordered additional police protection for NRC state co-ordinator Prateek Hajela.
The order was passed by a bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Rohinton F. Nariman after perusing a confidential report filed by Hajela wherein he said the final draft of NRC could not be published on June 30, a deadline set by the apex court early this year, because of floods and that it would be published by July 30.
The court accepted his contention but clarified that no extension beyond July 30 would be given for publication of the draft NRC.
The court listed the matter for further hearing on July 31.
The court also said the names of siblings and descendents of those declared "foreigners" by Foreigners Tribunals (FT) and those marked as "D" (doubtful) voters will not be included in the updated NRC. The eligibility status of "D" voters will be kept pending till FTs confirm their Indian citizenship.
In his report, Hajela also sought additional security for himself and his family members, hinting at possible ramifications once the final draft NRC is published. The court accepted the plea and directed the chief secretary and director-general of police of Assam to assess the situation and provide requisite security to Hajela and his family members.
The bench said the order was passed to "ensure Hajela can perform the task entrusted to him with the utmost devotion, sincerity and free from mental worries and shackles."
The court gave the Assam authorities seven days to file an action taken report on the enhanced security measures to Hajela.
It is not immediately known what sort of threats Hajela and his family are facing but certain organisations have accused him of being biased in updating the NRC.
The court also accepted Hajela's plea to delete 1.5 lakh names that figured in the first draft published on December 31, 2017 but were found ineligible during subsequent examination. The first draft contained 1.9 crore names out of 3.29 crore applicants.
Hajela was also permitted to keep on hold names of "descendants of declared foreigners and doubtful voters".
The order was passed by the court in connection with writ petition (civil) number 274/2009 filed by NGO Assam Public Works (APW) in 2009, seeking deletion of names of around 41 lakh foreigners from the voters list of Assam.
Welcoming the order, APW president Aabhijeet Sharma said if the name of a single foreigner is included in the updated NRC, they would again move the Centre, the state government and the Supreme Court.
AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharjya also welcomed the court order.
In another development related to NRC update, a team of senior government officers. led by chief secretary T.Y. Das and comprising director-general of police Kuladhar Saikia, special DGP (special branch) Pallab Bhattacharyya and additional DGP (law and order) Mukesh Agrawal, visited Cachar district in south Assam on Monday and took stock of the security situation in Cachar, Karimganj, Hailakandi and Dima Hasao districts ahead of the publication of the final draft.
The district deputy commissioners, superintendents of police and senior officers of police, the army and the central armed police forces were present at the meeting.
The meeting emphasised creating public awareness to allay apprehensions about the NRC update.
