Assam NRC: The Assam citizens' list seeks to remove people who have illegally settled
People whose names are not on the list of the Assam citizens' list can file claims starting September 25, the Supreme Court said today. The filing period has also been extended from 30 to 60 days.
The names of some 40 lakh people are not on the National Register of Citizens or NRC.
The top court said it does not want to give a second chance to people who change their claims of ancestry, or change of family tree.
The court said the doors are not closed for those whose names are not on the list. The next hearing is on September 23.
The Assam government will need the extra time to spread awareness about how people can file fresh claim and what additional documents are needed. In many cases, replies have to come from other states, which would also take time.
About 2.89 crore names are expected to be in the final draft and it is being suspected some people submitted fake papers to get into the rolls.
Another contentious issue facing the centre is how to deal with D voters. In 1996, the Election Commission had declared around 1.8 lakh voters as doubtful.
"Some of these people have got favourable orders from courts to prove their citizenship and their applications would be processed," a home ministry officer had told NDTV, adding the figure has crossed 2 lakh in the last 22-odd years.
The National Register of Citizens was first prepared in 1951 after a census. The latest updation of the list in Assam contains the names of descendants of those whose names were in the 1951 list, or those who were in Assam's Electoral rolls till March 24, 1971.
Of the 3.29 crore applicants in Assam, 1.9 crore have been cleared in first round of lists as Indian nationals on January 1 this year.