Supreme Court Seeks Centre’s Response on Plea to Begin Appeal Process for Persons Excluded from Assam NRC
The Supreme Court has issued notice to the Union Government and other authorities on a petition seeking the immediate commencement of the long-pending appeal process for nearly 19 lakh persons excluded from the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam. The petition contends that, despite the publication of the NRC in August 2019, those left out of the register have been denied an effective statutory remedy because the authorities have not initiated the formal appellate mechanism contemplated under the NRC framework.
The matter came up before a Bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi. Appearing for the petitioner, the Assam State Jamiat Ulama, counsel submitted that thousands of excluded persons continue to live in prolonged uncertainty regarding their citizenship status. It was argued that while the law provides a right to challenge exclusion before the Foreigners’ Tribunals, the process has not been operationalised, effectively depriving affected individuals of their legal remedy. The Supreme Court, taking note of the submissions, issued notice to the Centre and tagged the matter with another pending petition raising similar issues.
The petition highlights that the final NRC list has not yet been formally notified by the Registrar General of India, resulting in a legal and administrative stalemate. According to the petitioner, the absence of notification has prevented excluded persons from obtaining certified copies of the reasons for their exclusion and from filing statutory appeals before the competent forums. This prolonged delay, it is argued, has adversely affected access to identity documents, welfare benefits and legal certainty for thousands of families.
The NRC exercise in Assam was conducted under the direct supervision of the Supreme Court to identify genuine Indian citizens in the State. When the final list was published on 31 August 2019, over 19 lakh applicants were excluded. Although the Citizenship Rules contemplate an appeal mechanism through Foreigners’ Tribunals, its implementation has remained incomplete due to the non-notification of the final NRC and related administrative issues, leaving the status of excluded persons unresolved.
The latest proceedings come against the backdrop of the Supreme Court’s recent emphasis that questions of citizenship and foreigner status must be determined through a “fair, lawful and reasonable” process. In a separate judgment earlier this month, the Court set aside declarations of 27 persons as foreigners and remanded their cases for fresh adjudication, reiterating that citizenship disputes cannot be decided on technicalities or without adherence to principles of natural justice.
With notices now issued, the Union Government and the concerned authorities will be required to explain the continued delay in operationalising the appeal process. The Supreme Court’s eventual decision is expected to have far-reaching consequences for thousands of individuals awaiting an opportunity to challenge their exclusion from the Assam NRC and may determine the future course of one of India’s most significant citizenship-related exercises.
