[dropcap]A[/dropcap] two-judge bench comprising the Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Rohinton F Nariman extended the date of filing claims and objections in response to draft NRC from December 15, 2018 to December 31, 2018. The Assam Government filed an application in the Supreme Court seeking an extension of one month for receiving claims and objections in response to draft NRC.
The National Register of Citizens is the list of Indian citizens of Assam and was first prepared after the 1951 census. This was started to prevent illegal migration from Bangladesh and other adjoining area.
The Assam Government released the first draft of National Register of Citizens on January 1, 2018 with 1.9 crore names out of 3.29 crore applications. In the final draft released on July 30, 2018, 2.89 crore people were found eligible.
In September, the Supreme Court allowed the people whose names did not figure in the draft NRC of Assam to file claim and objections. This process was supposed to start on August 30, 2018, however, it started in September. The bench also provided a list of 10 documents on which the claimants can rely on. The Court had asked the views of Mr Prateek Hajela, coordinator of Assam NRC, on inclusion of documents like names in Electoral Roll, Citizenship Certificate, et cetera. In response, he had submitted the report on modalities of Standard Operating Procedure for dealing with claims and objections in a sealed cover.
On December 12, 2018, the Court granted extension for filing the claims and objections. Mr Hajela submitted that out of 40 lakhs people, 14.8 lakhs have filed claims and objections until now. The date for commencement of verification has also been postponed from February 1, 2019 to February 15, 2019.
