Assam State NRC Coordinator Hitesh Dev Sarma moved to the Supreme Court seeking comprehensive re-verification of the draft NRC as well as its supplementary list.
In a petition filed by the NRC Coordinator, it asked for appropriate direction from the top court for the process to be undertaken under Clause 4 (3) of the Schedule of the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules 2003. Sarma sought re-verification under the supervision of a monitoring committee, preferably represented by the respective District Judge, District Magistrate, and Superintendent of Police.
According to reports, the Coordinator in his petition claimed that while ineligible names were included in the draft NRC, many eligible names have been excluded from the list.
Sarma, in the plea before the apex court, said since the preparation of a correct and error free NRC was integral to national security.
Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had earlier stated that the State Government would seek re-verification of the NRC.
"Our view on NRC is very clear. We want 20% re-verification of the list in districts bordering Bangladesh and 10% re-verification in other districts. If after that, NRC is found to be correct, the state government would accept it and take the process forward. But if NRC is found faulty even after re-verification, we would want the Supreme Court to view this issue critically," Himanta Biswa Sarma said while addressing the media after taking oath as the Chief Minister.
"If the NRC checks out, then we shall do nothing but if there are discrepancies we will ask for the Supreme Court's guidance. We have been saying this for a while and we stand by this," he added.
"The CAA is a legislation that was passed by the Parliament and, as it stands, the State government has nothing much to do in this case, as rules are yet to be framed. Since, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the exercise to frame the rules is on hold, that is where the matter lies," the Chief Minister said.
