Supreme Court Probes Delays in Assam NRC Appeals

Guwahati: The Supreme Court stepped into the Assam citizenship deadlock on Tuesday, July 21. A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi issued notices to the Centre, the Assam government, and the State NRC Coordinator. The court acted after the Assam State Jamiat Ulama filed a petition demanding an appeal process for those left off the final National Register of Citizens.

The petitioner's counsel argued that legal mechanisms for appeals remain frozen. This silence forces hardship on thousands. The court agreed to link this case with a similar, pending petition to streamline the legal review. Counsel argued that "although the law provides an appeal mechanism for those excluded from the NRC, the process has not yet been initiated."

Official data shows the final NRC list went live on August 31, 2019. Out of 3.30 crore applicants, 3.11 crore people made the cut. This left 19.06 lakh people excluded from the register. The petition also asks the court to force the government to issue national identity cards under Section 14A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, and Rule 13 of the 2003 rules to those successfully included in the list. Judges will hear the case again once the respondents file their formal replies.